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A glance at who’s wearing the wearables 0

The person most likely to own wearable technology is in his mid to upper 20s, earns a pretty good salary and had embraced tech gadgets at an early age. And if they get their wish, the next device may come in the form of a jeweled pendant.

smartwatch_artWearable tech – smart watches, Google Glass, fitness bands and the like – is growing in acceptance and popularity, and companies are investing heavily in the potential market of users. The market forecast for wearables is projected to hit more than $1.5 billion this year. That’s an emerging opportunity for producers of content to exploit.

So, who are these people who wear their tech? And what is the appeal of it?

The research firm Nielsen turned to those consumers who are already using the devices, and in its recently released Connected Life Report found out that:

  • The majority of those owning wearables are young adults, with nearly half between 18 and 34. They typically have the disposable income for the devices, with 29 percent earning over $100,000 a year.
  • Fitness bands are the most popular devices, with 61 percent of those surveyed by Nielsen owning them, followed by smart watches (45 percent) and mobile health devices (17 percent). However, 72 percent of those surveyed wished wearables were less expensive.
  • Those owning wearables are not technology novices. Three-quarters of the owners consider themselves “early adopters” of technology.
  • This may get designers’ attention: Nielsen found that 62 percent of those surveyed would like wearables in forms other than wrist bands and watches, and 53 percent would like to seem wearables look more like jewelry.

Nielsen obtained the results from 3,956 adults 18 and over who completed the survey in November 2013.

Smartphone ‘kill switch’ could save consumers billions, researcher says 0

Technology that can render a stolen smartphone worthless to thieves could save consumers $2.6 billion a year in product replacement and insurance premiums if it significantly reduces thefts of the devices, a new report says.

lockedphone_artThe study by Creighton University researcher William Duckworth is the latest argument for the installation of so-called “kill switch” technology in smartphones. California became the first state in the nation to propose making the disabling technology mandatory on the devices when state legislators proposed a bill in February. Federal lawmakers are also considering legislation in Washington.

Wireless carriers have mostly resisted these requests, and the wireless trade group CTIA has come out in opposition, citing potential hacking and privacy risks that could affect entire groups of smartphone customers.

Duckworth, an assistant professor of statistics, data science and analytics at Creighton, surveyed 1,200 smartphone owners in February using ResearchNow and reviewed the average cost of the devices and insurance as part of his study.

Duckworth estimated that it costs consumers about $580 million a year to replace stolen smartphones and another $4.8 billion annually to insure premium handsets like the iPhone. Duckworth summarizes in his report:

“A stolen smartphone – such as the iPhone 5S – could sell for $800 or more in the United States and overseas. For criminals, a stolen phone could be worth more than a stolen wallet, a tablet, or even a laptop.”

The professor said his research showed that if the kill switch technology proves an effective deterrent by rendering stolen smartphones useless, leaving no incentive for thieves to steal them, most of the $580 million spent by users to replace the devices would be saved.

Another $2 billion a year would be saved by customers who switch to cheaper insurance coverage for their devices. Duckworth says at least half of smartphone users would do this if the disabling technology reduced the theft threat.

Says Duckworth:

“Overall, it seems clear that Americans want the Kill Switch and that an industry-wide implementation of the technology could significantly improve public safety and save consumers billions of dollars a year.”

Duckworth’s survey also found that:

  • 99 percent of smartphone owners believe wireless carries should allow consumers the option to disable the device if it is stolen
  • 93 percent believe owners should not be expected to pay extra for the ability to disable a stolen phone
  • 83 percent believe a kill switch would reduce smartphone theft.

YouTube’s playbook for content creators 0

Search YouTube for “content marketing” and you’ll have your choice of over 450,000 videos, many of well produced, quick-hit segments by companies pitching their expertise in creating custom and native content.

Ads are becoming content, only this is content that people chose to watch to become educated about a marketing brand to make an informed decision. The challenge for those responsible for the marketing strategy is creating the compelling content that attracts attention and gets shared.

Enter Google.

youtubebook1_artThe parent company of YouTube released “The Creator Playbook for Brands,” a how-to guide for content marketing success on the platform.

The guide presents the tools and know-how developed by a generation of YouTube content creators that can help brands develop content strategies that will resonate with today’s consumers.

The guide, downloadable here, is fairly comprehensive at 100 pages and divided into seven sections, each presenting several strategies for building engaged audiences on YouTube:

  • Content marketing as part of your brand strategy. This helps you, as a content creator, develop it for YouTube and define how it should fit with your overall brand strategy.
  • 10 fundamentals to create content people love.
  • Schedule your content. This advice helps you decide what your channel stands for, how best to communicate this, and what you need to map out the different types of videos and the best times to release them.
  • Optimize your content. From metadata and annotations to playlists, what you need to know for a successful optimization strategy.
  • Promote your content with paid media.
  • Amplify your content with social.
  • Measurement. Use the tools to help track metrics around all of your paid, owned and earned media on YouTube.

 

Five tips for getting your brand message out 0

contentmktg_artQuality content, created and produced consistently, is a key element to any content marketing strategy. The way the content is distributed is also just as important.

While social media is the dominant means of distribution of your brand message, and as published sponsored content grows in popularity, it’s good to remember that there are other channels just as effective and important to your company’s strategy.

TheNextWeb.com offers five suggestions for distributing your content, just in case you may have overlooked them:

  • Your company’s sales and management teams can use your content as a means to build on customer relationships.
  • Syndicate your content with relevant blogs, brands or publishers to build your audience base.
  • Email is still an effective channel to reach out to an audience. A solid, well written headline in the email always grabs attention.
  • Reach out to traditional connections and networks to promote your content.
  • Try out LinkedIn as a platform to present your message. With the launch of its Insights tool that helps businesses gauge the effectiveness of their brand marketing posts, you’ll be able to see the results.

The voracious digital omnivores 0

The number of consumers with more than one digital device continues to grow, and they are hungry for content.

mobilecontentDeloitte recently released the findings of its eighth Digital Democracy Survey, which show that over a third of U.S. consumers – 37 percent – are digital omnivores, consumers who own tablets, smartphones and laptops. That’s a 42 percent increase from the previous year.

The growth is primarily driven by continued tablet usage and increased smartphone ownership. Tablet ownership rose from 13 percent in  2011 to 48 percent last year, according to Deloitte.

In addition, women, who made up 35 percent of digital omnivores a year ago, now comprise 45 percent of the group.

As the usage of tablets and smartphones as content devices grows, owners are craving more content. Interest in streaming content has nearly doubled, from 17 percent in 2012 to 32 percent in 2013, with interest in digital formats outpacing demand for physical media.

But Deloitte’s survey also found that consumers remain content with pay TV subscriptions, with only 6 percent saying they would give up their paid TV services next year.  Also, a majority of consumers said they still prefer to rent movies and television programming rather than purchase it.

With ownership of multiple devices on the rise, so is multitasking. According to Deloitte’s survey, 86 percent of consumers continue to be distracted by another device with watching TV, up from 72 percent in 2011. Yet only 22 percent of those involved in multitasking are doing activities directly related to the programs they are watching.

Millennials, those in the 14-to-24 demographic, are the most active of multitaskers, doing four activities while watching TV.

You can read more about Deloitte’s Digital Democracy Survey here. Feel free to tell us what you think.

deloitte_infografic_one

 

Tell, don’t sell, your content 0

Marketing content, simply put, is created to help customers make an informed decision about the brand or product they are reading about.

It’s about establishing a relationship with the consumer through quality writing, informative graphics, solid images and overall consumable and engaging content. Consumers want to be educated and informed. They really don’t want to be pushed.

contentmktg_artIn other words, tell, don’t sell.

A sponsored content story, blog post or item that comes off as a written version of a cold call – “This is our product! Buy it now! You will not be disappointed!” — will divert the consumer elsewhere, especially a consumer with a smartphone and limited attention span.

Giving them information in consumable bits that keep your brand in mind, as well as move the conversion factor in your favor, is effective. Sometimes the customer wants to know more about the product, not just what it is, but how it relates to their daily lives, and the experiences others have had with it.

This article by Business 2 Community has a few straightforward tips about content marketing strategy and avoiding the product-pitch approach:

  • Be an effective storyteller. Draw people in, and engage them.
  • A content marketing relationship takes time, so be patient and consistent.
  • Put away the sales script. Come up with content that humanizes the company.
  • Set aside the ego. Think like the demographic you are trying to reach.

 

Tablets still popular, but move from PCs slowing 0

The transition from PC to tablet computers is beginning to slow, even as sales of mobile devices continues to move upward.

Worldwide shipments of PCs, tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices, an indicator of popular interest, is projected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2014, up 6.9 percent from the previous year, Gartner Inc. says in a new report.

Shipments of PCs continue to tumble, down about 6.6 percent from 2013. Gartner says sales of traditional PCs will continue to hamper the overall growth of devices, and the transition to tablets as the primary computer for users will decline, even as tablet shipments rose 38 percent from 2013. Consumers and businesses are taking the time to pair the right device with the right job – for example, whether a tablet computer is more effective than a laptop in the business environment.

Consumers will also increasingly look for other tablet features beyond the price, such as smaller screens, greater portability and better connectivity in their replacement tablets.

Smartphones and other mobile phones represent the largest segment of the overall device market, with shipments expected to hit 1.9 billion this year, up 4.9 percent from 2013. Growth in this segment is projected to come from less expensive premium phones and higher-end basic phones.

 

 

 

Estimating the payoff from content marketing 0

It can take six to nine months of consistent creation and production of high-quality content, say 15 posts per month, before a company can start to see results.

That’s the advice from content marketing expert Arnie Kuenn in this segment. Kuenn, CEO of Phoenix-based Vertical Measures and an author and frequent speaker on content marketing, says the payoff comes to companies that are patient and consistently productive.

Check out the segment here, and tell us what you think.

Survey: A quarter of U.S. companies have yet to go mobile 0

Companies still have a way to go when it comes to embracing mobile technology, according to a new survey.

Just over a quarter of U.S. companies – 28 percent – do not have a mobile technology strategy, according to a Robert Half Technology survey.

The survey is based on 2,300 telephone interviews with chief information officers from a random sampling of U.S. companies.

In the same survey, 70 percent of the firms have some type of mobile strategy, with the majority – 56 percent – saying they use a blend of apps  and mobile-friendly websites.

The survey also says:

  • The health care industry lags behind when it comes to leveraging the use of mobile devices for customer and patient engagement. According to the survey, 36 percent of respondents from health care companies say their organization has no mobile strategy. More than 60 percent of those polled from business services and retail say their companies embrace mobile technology for customer engagement.
  • Many of the companies with a mobile strategy are not emphasizing the use of apps to connect with customers and clients. Of the CIOs surveyed, 58 percent said their company has not developed a mobile app for customers and clients and has no plans to offer one in the next 12 months. Another 22 percent say their business plans to create a native app for customers in the next 12 months.

Content marketing trending by the numbers 0

Here’s where the state of content marketing is in 2014:

Companies are taking the initiative to create their own content, with 93 percent doing it in house. But, 17 percent of marketers don’t blog at all.

Other people’s content is shared on social media by 56 percent of companies. But, 16 percent of companies have a policy not to share third-party content.

Only 37 percent of companies are tracking engagement like time users spend on content.

That’s just a few of the revelations in “The State of Content Marketing 2014,” an infographic produced recently by Oracle Eloqua and Lookbook HQ. It illustrates trends in blogging, production, sharing and measurement strategies, and is worth a look.

stateofcontent_art