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Category: Mobile

  • Why You Should Consider Redesigning your Website

    Why You Should Consider Redesigning your Website

    To get the most out of your website, it should be redesigned often. If you think that your website is up-to-date and your website’s design looks great, it probably is. However, a website should be improved and looked after regularly to ensure that your company’s presence is effective and successful at driving what is most important to your business.

    1) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    A website must be SEO friendly, which means that website contains rich content, relevant text, and HTML tags that are relevant to what users want, especially users that you are looking for. Sometimes a website’s structure is non-compatible with search engine algorithms, which means the website’s pages are not indexed and the website fails to appear in search results.

    This is also a good time to make sure your website is mobile responsive. As you redesign the website, ensure that it is easy to access the website across multiple devices and browsers. It should easily read on-screen sizes of any device that a website visitor might be browsing with.

    2) Technology Changes

    Website technology changes regularly, and your website should follow the same trend. It is important to stay up-to-date with recent technology to ensure visitors can view website content properly and access the website across multiple devices and browsers. The software surrounding your website updates more often than one might think. WordPress updates, internet browser updates, search engine algorithm updates and other changes can all affect how a website performs with an effective user experience.

    3) Rebranding your website

    When a website is redesigned for a company it should follow the company branding and messaging. The redesign allows rebranding the website to better represent the brand’s voice. In addition, the newly designed website will stand out in website visitors’ minds when they are looking for products and services.

    4) Make your website more functional

    Depending on the features and functions of the website, it may need to be redesigned to make it more user-friendly and accessible. For instance, you might want to add social media integration or e-commerce features. Adding these website functionalities can make for a more engaging experience when a visitor lands on your website. This will increase leads and, in return, increase revenue.

    5) Optimize your website for mobile users

    It is important to ensure website availability and access is across multiple web browsers and devices. Today more website visitors are browsing on mobile phones and companies need to adapt to the changes in website design.

    People visit your website to learn about your products and services, so it is important to keep your site up-to-date and provide website visitors with valuable website content.

    If it’s time for your website to undergo a redesign, DigitalParc can help you at every step of the way to optimize and design content as well as market your site and business to ensure website success. We have been selected as one of the Top Minnesota Web Design Companies by DesignRush. Contact us today at hello@digitalparc.com or at 612-845-5590.

  • Sharing Publishers’ Direct URLs Is Now Easier With Updated AMP Display

    Sharing Publishers’ Direct URLs Is Now Easier With Updated AMP Display

    Google announced this week that mobile users will now have an easier time sharing URLs that lead to the original publishers’ sites. Presently, AMP content keeps users connected to Google instead of directing them towards publishers URLs. Regular content, however, links users to the original publication URL. As a result, mobile users try to share AMP content using a Google URL instead of the actual original source. Google now promises, however, that sharing publishers’ direct URLs is now easier with updated AMP display coming in early 2017. But what will the changes bring? (more…)

  • The Five-Step Guide to Mobile Marketing Automation

    The Five-Step Guide to Mobile Marketing Automation

    By Sophorn Chhay

    Your mobile marketing strategy might be watertight, but amazing products won’t sell themselves. If you’ve covered all the bases, and if you’ve anticipated future marketing forecasts, it might be time to consider automation. Mobile marketing automation is extremely important for online marketing because it directly affects the customer’s user experience. Likewise, if a customer has a poor mobile experience, chances are your business will suffer.

    Mobile Marketing Automation

    Firstly, assuming you’ve developed a mobile app, streamline your platform for quick downloads and a seamless UI. Once you’ve created the bare bones, it’s time to automate. Mobile marketing automation engages customers. It drives sales and garners results with custom-tailored options. Your brand and app alike deserve a personalized touch, and your consumers will thank you for automated messages along communication channels. Check out our rundown of mobile marketing automation below, and take advantage of the excellent strategies the world’s professionals have crafted:

    Step One: Target Consumer Segments

    Your consumer population is big, and it deserves a properly mapped-out marketing channel to succeed. You need to segment your users into separate categories before you can automate your mobile strategy, and you need to harness effective campaign plotting before succeeding with an SMS rollout. Segment your users by the following criteria:

    ● Area context, like Location, weather and nearby events
    ● Demographics, like marital status, gender and age
    ● Active time of day, work hours and weekend behavior

    Once you’ve divided your population, you can begin targeting them with specialized messages.

    Step Two: Trigger App Engagement

    Once you’ve created a segment plan, it’s time to impact users with app engagement. While SMS output is “the name of the game,” further engagement via mobile app ensures a rock-solid automated mobile marketing platform.

    Mobile apps are integral to your marketing strategy. In fact, they constitute 89 percent of your consumer’s media time on mobile. While planning your advertisement campaigns, direct users to your app platform via automation. Once you have, automate them further by:

    ● Prompting them to take action
    ● Encouraging them to revisit your app
    ● Assist them with activity completion

    Step Three: Establish Direct Connection

    Mobile automation benefits consumer connection, too. Automated SMS programs, when properly aimed, can direct users to your webmail platform. Moreover, they can institute a series of prompts capable of garnering direct communication channels.

    While an SMS platform is already “direct connection,” it’s still automated. Your key goals should rest in the consumer’s need to connect further. Here, benefits and location-based services are handy. Within the next three to four years, 94 percent of CMOs plan to execute mobile app strategies. Your benefits must extend from your SMS campaign, because a huge disconnect exists between business providers and cross-channel consumers.

    Step Four: Direct Automation Towards Social Media

    Social media is a natural partner of mobile marketing automation. Why? Because it garners big numbers, shares a lot of content and fosters in-depth relationships. Social media is also the home to Millennials. Currently, 50 percent of Millennials utilize their smartphones to research services, products and brand information. They’re a key demographic to your success, and they’re thriving on Facebook and Twitter.

    When possible, direct your consumers from automated SMS campaigns to your social media presence. Furthermore, workbackwards. Social media is a fantastic reverse-op source for cross-platform potential. Your social media presence should link users to your e-commerce site, encourage text communication and invoke direct communication to your brand.

    Step Five: Study the Data, and Provide Benefits

    Consumers like value, and they’ll connect with your brand if you can provide it. Once you’ve automated your platform, discover their preferences with data-gathering analysis. If you can discover their preferences, you won’t need to automate on smaller levels.

    Such smaller levels are vital to your strategy, too, as small consumer segments constitute a huge portion of return brand visitors. The market will change, but loyal followers will stay. Check out performance indicators, and personalize all of your marketing efforts. When possible, gather information from sales participants, and measure which strategies enhance your brand’s perceived value.

    While you’re at it, check out these five tips for effective bulk texting strategies.

    The consumer is always right, and they should be examined for their reasoning. Ironically, mobile marketing automation’s end-game is to reduce the need for automation. Automation providers sheer numbers, but long-lasting brands deliver value and drive consumer behavior. Don’t worry, you’ll always benefit from automation, but your brand’s durability, in the long haul, will carry itself into the newest stages of smartphone and consumer behavior development.

    Author Biography
    Sophorn Chhay
    Sophorn is an inbound marketer specializing in attracting targeted visitors and generating sales qualified leads. Through Trumpia’s mass text messaging automation solution he helps businesses and organizations communicate effectively with their customers or members.

  • It’s official, Google to launch mobile-friendly algorithm update

    Google has recently made an announcement that they are making major changes to their search algorithm. Starting April 21, Google’s organic search algorithm will focus more on “mobile friendliness” as a ranking signal. What does this mean? Websites that have responsive design will be more attractive to Google’s search engine, while websites that are not mobile friendly will be penalized.

    Google is making these changes in hopes of making it easier for users to find relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices. According to Google, 94% of people use a mobile phone to get local information, even if they have a desktop nearby. Google wants to make these users’ experience even better by listing search results that are friendly on mobile devices.

    Responsive web design has always been a smart thing for a business to have, but now it’s almost a necessity. 73 percent of web users prefer mobile-friendly websites and 61 percent leave a site if it is not mobile-friendly. 67 percent of users say they are more likely to buy from a site if it is mobile friendly. Because of the dramatic increase in mobile usage, naturally it makes sense for Google to play favorites and steer users toward mobile friendly websites. As a result, the search engine will push websites which are not mobile-friendly further down in search results.

    If your site is not mobile-friendly, chances are you won’t be found when someone is searching for the services you offer. For those that have sites that aren’t mobile friendly, it might be time to talk with a web designer.

  • Apple Acquires Topsy, A Twitter Insight Tool

    Apple Acquires Topsy, A Twitter Insight Tool

    It was announced on December 2nd that Apple has acquired Topsy, a social analytics firm, for over $200 million. The Topsy platform allows users to view the content of any tweet that has been written since 2006. This information can be used to draw conclusions about the relevance of certain issues in the digital realm. Although tweets about cute cat videos and Miley Cyrus have no doubt been popular, Topsy has had a big impact on real issues such as politics.

    Topsy made the news during the 2012 presidential election when it was used to help measure candidates popularity on Twitter. Topsy is a large partner of Twitter that creates products that sift through the hundreds of billions of Tweets, and allows users to find out what has really been trending on Twitter for the last few years.

    In addition to tracking tweets, Topsy has expanded to allow trends to be viewed based on links and photo shares as well. This has helped researches to see the true impact and reach of content that has gone viral over the last few years. With an opportunity to gain control of a powerful consumer insight tool, Apple decided to acquire Topsy to learn more about what consumers are really interested in.

    This is not Apples first purchase of what they refer to as “bolt-on” companies. Apple often has acquired small hardware companies and integrated the new technologies provided by those companies into their new products. While another “bolt-on” company purchase is not unusual for Apple, Apple is not known for its ventures in social media. Apples last attempt at social media was with it’s music sharing service, Ping, which was shut down when it failed to gain traction with consumers.

    While Apple has yet to comment on what it intends to do with Topsy, many have speculated its usefulness in Apple services such as Siri and the iTunes online media store. Topsy could be useful in helping to provide purchase recommendations to customers on the iTunes online media store.

    -By Evan Wright

  • Enhancing Digital Promotion Using Physical Tools: AMC Theaters Augmented Reality Enabled Movie Posters

    Enhancing Digital Promotion Using Physical Tools: AMC Theaters Augmented Reality Enabled Movie Posters

    Bringing back a marketing dinosaur

    Marketing has been going through a seismic shift over the last decade. A field that used to be dominated by print advertising and billboards is rapidly being replaced by miniature smart phone websites and pay per click advertising. Even though new technology has begun to phase out the traditional methods of promotion, there are some new methods that actually make use of decade old tools such as print advertising.

    AMC Theaters is one of the largest entertainment venues in the country. They bring in billions of dollars in revenue each year and are one of the staples of the entertainment industry. Even though they have evolved their marketing with smartphone applications and pre-movie screening advertisements, they have found a way to integrate new technology into the most basic of their industry’s marketing, the movie poster.

    New technology  has allowed for smartphones to create augmented reality. User will look at the outside world through their mobile screen and be treated to a different experience than their eyes initially perceived. AMC has integrated this into movie posters. By viewing the poster using the phone camera, movie details, movie trailers, and ticket information will pop up on the screen. This process works on movie posters inside the theater, as well as VR enabled posters that are present in print magazines and on websites.

    Applications for your business

    If you have print marketing efforts, including posters, signage, or magazine ads, it may be worth seeing if you can enhance these marketing efforts with some digital technology. QR codes are scan-ready media that will take a customer to your designated mobile website once they scan it. You can also go the AMC Theater route and create a complete augmented reality experience with your print advertising. This method will greatly enhance the level of interaction that your print advertising has for customers. Even though this method can be effective, here are a few pointers to use when integrating this software:

    • Make the destination as good as the journey: If you create a beautiful print advertisement and then have a scan area to give the customer more information, make sure that the mobile experience is as good as, or better, than the print one. QR codes and VR efforts have been criticized for their marketing effectiveness because they are misused. A company will create the possibility for this interaction, but when customers use it they are taken to a non-mobile website, or worse, the link may not work at all. Having the technology work correctly and seamlessly is key to success.
    • Put it in the right place: This type of technology is well suited to a movie theater inside a mall where the majority of people have a smartphone and cell service & wifi are in abundance. However, virtual reality marketing will not work if it is being used on a roadside billboard where people drive by, or in a section of the city where cell phone reception will be hard to come by. Make sure that customers will be able to access your great content whenever you present the option.

    Virtual reality and augmented experiences were only seen in science fiction movies a few years ago. Now everyone with access to a smartphone is able to participate in this futuristic marketing. At DigitalParc we have the app development tools to help you get on the cutting edge of marketing promotion. Good luck with your digital and print advertising, and thanks for reading!