I came across this great, informative video from Frankwatching that highlights how firms can market their brands online. It also showcases some statistics about the online environment consumers are in. They state that 1 in every 4 minutes spent online is on a social networking site, and that there’s a rise in the number of users going online via mobile phones and tablets and a decrease of those users on a computer.

Most of the tips they mention I would agree 100% with. The tip that really caught my attention, was the one about creating a mobile version of your website. I find that I myself, am slowly transitioning from lugging around my heavy laptop and hoping that I’m near a wi-fi hotspot to carrying my smart phone with connects to a 3G network. Also, the technology is changing in that I am considering buying a tablet that I can tether my  smart phone to. I can definitely see how times are changing an a mobile version of every site will soon become the norm. So why not start now?

They go on to say that companies should create a mobile app and and integrating geo-location based apps. I am a little skeptical with this tip. The reason being is I’ve seen a a lot of good apps, but for each one excellent app I find, I see one hundred poor quality apps. Yes apps are relatively cheap to produce nowadays, but in most cases the quality or functionality just isn’t there. In terms of mobile apps I firmly believe you get what you pay for, and a good app is most likely going to cost an arm and a leg.

Facebook announced it will be selling prime space on their log out page. For the minimum price (not average)of $700 000 a day, firms can place a prominent stand-alone ad on the Facebook log out page. This news is big as Facebook’s other two ad forms, the newsfeed and sidebar, do not have nearly as much exclusivity and are not as noticable. As of a couple days ago, ads for Bing, Ford, and Titanic 3D are the only ones that have been shown. With 37 million users logging out each day that’s quite the guaranteed audience.

Here is an example of the titanic ad:

It’ll be interesting to see how Facebook users will take to this new ad. Will they complain? Will they not care because it appears at the end of their Facebook experience? Only time will tell…

Smart phones are becoming so advanced nowadays that they can connect with just anything. Smart phones are able to communicate with just about anything. They can tell the HD Personal Video Recorder, be used as a remote for many smart televisions, receive notifications from the washer and dryer when their loads are done. It was only a matter of time when smart phones would be able to communicate with our cars.

In 2011 BMW released their BMW app with allows to drivers to update their Facebook and Twitter statuses using the in car controls. Of course, it would be a little unsafe to have drivers manually key in their statuses, so BMW has streamlined the process and using real time information composed ready made status updates. Some examples are:

“It’s 72 degrees and I’m drive a convertible”
“It’s hot outside”
“Looking for a filling station”
“Going to need to refuel soon” 
“I’m online in my BMW with BMW Apps”

I suspect that much like other devices that allow users to post status updates, this one will include a “posted using BMW App” or “posted in a BMW” note with each update. This means by using this app, drivers are inadvertently advertising the BMW brand. Much like my other post about the Coke Village, when drivers use this app they are giving the BMW brand their stamp of approval and advertising for BMW to their friends.