5 Proven Ways to Generate Revenue from Facebook & SMS

The first question people ask is, “Can Facebook really generate money?”.  

If you’ve read any of the Facebook marketing case studies over the last year, you’ve seen examples of small business profits and boosts in ecommerce sales via Facebook sharing. If your business is ready to move toward Facebook profits, your next question should be: “What distinguishes profitable and unprofitable Facebook marketing campaigns?”

First, consider your revenue model. What steps will get your users to buy? How do you attract their attention in the first place? What does the conversion funnel look like? And how does Facebook fit with the marketing channels that already work for you, like email, text messages and affiliate revenue?

There are a number of strategies companies use to do Facebook business effectively. Let’s look at five of them.

1. Advertising Based E-Commerce 
2. Fan Based E-Commerce
3. Facebook Ads and Email
4. Facebook Ads and Text Messaging
5. Generating Traffic to Your Ad-Supported Site

Which revenue model should you choose? Click on MODI$club's Facebook page and the "Like" button on the page to access full details of each of the above points. This is also to demonstrate how one can incorporate Facebook with other medium, such as Blog, to increase traffic to your Facebook.

Also, make sure you understand the amount of time and creativity required for fan marketing before you start. Companies that jump into fan marketing without that understanding and a good plan usually post in a way that doesn’t lead to much interaction. Then, EdgeRank reduces the reach and value of your Facebook page. Overall, the ROI of your efforts becomes low or negative. But when you get the right fans from effective channels, such as SMS campaigns (text messaging), and engage them with interesting content, profits often follow.  

 
For more information and help on your marketing and communication strategies outline above, please contact us at nexusV.com or MODISclub.com.

Have you already switched to a new email marketing strategy?

Is your current marketing strategy more dynamic, more targeted, more mobile? If you haven’t, make room in your 2012 marketing plan for SMS marketing campaigns.


With the convenience of SMS keywords and MODI$club's FREE mass SMS messaging platform, marketers can now boost their digital initiatives by incorporating mobile. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned professional, get started with your first SMS marketing campaign before your competitors do. It is time to see mobile as a marketing must-have.


Added value

SMS campaigns differ from email newsletters whose aim is usually to inform subscribers about the latest news. For a more effective call-to-action, the convenience and briefness of SMS will allow you to reach your target. SMS can be used to feature special offers, reminders or alerts on the go – a good way to lengthen your brand exposure.

Add some catchy benefit in the message, like:

• discount code
• gift card code
• announcement of competition
• password for something
• exclusive information

140 characters

Write as short and precisely as possible. Your aim is to grab attention and clearly indicate what the receiver can get from you, where to go, or what to do. It’s your call to action!

Include links

With the expansion of smartphones, you can include web or mobile site links in SMS. Guide them to mobile-friendly landing pages with additional information that is visually and audio rich.

For more information and ideas on mobile SMS marketing, please contact us for free advice.

Attention Musicians & Event Planners: Sell Out Your Shows with SMS marketing

Bands or event planners can now use text messages to alert their fans about upcoming ticket sales for shows that are likely to be sold out. What about undersold shows?

Artists and venues can use a service like MODI$club to send a message to fans letting them know of extra space at upcoming events a day or two before, perhaps offering discounted tickets to fill the venue. This could really help out up and coming bands that otherwise might have trouble selling out concerts. Combined with a strong social media strategy, text message marketing could be a useful marketing tool for artists to take advantage of.

Artists can also use text messages to engage directly with fans. Can you imagine being able to send a text to your favorite band and get a reply on your cell phone? With MODI$club, such instant reach is possible. Bands can also use SMS marketing to offer discounts on merchandise and CDs. Maybe make it interactive: watch video clips on a mobile site or ask fans to text in their favorite song by the artist in exchange for 50% off the latest album.

Of course, the best part of text messaging is that it is an instant two-way communication.  A band could send a text out before a concert asking for song requests, so that fans hear exactly what songs they came for. Fans could even text in song requests during a live show, and the band can choose their set based on the number of votes for certain songs. Maybe a banner or projector could be set up above the stage to display the number to text as well as a live-updating list of requests. With text message marketing services a new era of live music or performance with fan interaction is possible.

MODI$club is a text message marketing service who helps small businesses send text messages to their customers via the web. Visit us at MODISclub.com to sign up for a free account. Follow us on Twitter , be part of our Facebook community

Is Short Code SMS Marketing Suitable for Forprofit as well as Nonprofit Organizations?

Almost all mobile phones supports text messaging – 97% of them and all smartphones do. To this end SMS has the widest reach of any mobile medium, making it an ideal marketing and communications tool for businesses and perfect for nonprofit organizations too.

Perfect for fundraising considering that text messaging has taken off across the world and continues to gain popularity. In terms of mobile fundraising  SMS is also an approved carrier-billing method.

Texting is not just a teen activity… That’s a myth these days with all ages sending and receiving text messages.  Today may brands, nonprofits, associations and businesses realize this and are using text messaging to interact and engage with their customers, employees, members and volunteers.

SMS Short Codes and generally a 5 or 6 digit number or numeric string of letters that spell a name or give a call to action which people text into like “Mobile” with a key word like “donate.”

Increasingly people are becoming familiar with popular brands using SMS short codes in their marketing campaigns. Usage by non profits and government entities are on the increase too,  realizing using short codes enable them to reach more and more people.

Mobile campaigns text messaging can include links to the non profit’s mobile Internet website or mobile WAP page very easily these days. Paving the way for continued engagement via text messaging.

Websites and telephone numbers can be accessed via links in the text message reply. These are most effective when stating an immediate “click to call” instruction and the response can be dealt with via charity’s call center. A "show to redeem" incentive is also widely used for businesses offering discounts and promotions.

More than 97 percent of ALL mobile phones support text messaging, consumers don’t need smartphones or expensive data plans to engage with their favorite charities.

Industry statistics say that on average, texts are read in under five minutes of delivery whereas the average email is read within 48 hours. SMS users are active across all demographics. In the USA 53% of those engaging with short code are over 35 years old.  82% of 18–24 year olds and 72% ages 25–49 year olds send and receive text messages.

There are more than twice as many active SMS users as active users of email and the gap is widening in favor of SMS users year on year.

It’s estimated that  over 65 % of email is spam, less than 10 percent of SMS is spam.

Mobile phones overtake landline services for many people across the world. This mean for permission based mobile communication are becoming ever more critical nonprofit organizations.

In conclusion SMS marketing could mobilize millions of people and dollars if done right! For more information or assistance in your mobile marketing and communication strategies, please contact a representative at MODI$club.

Reference Source: iLocalSearch

Increase Mobile App Discovery and Usage

Marketers must ensure their apps are not only found and downloaded but kept, too

Mobile apps are used as marketing tools by many brands, but they need to be marketed themselves in order for app users to find and then download them. Not only must the price be right, having a right marketing channel that effectively connects Mobile apps to users plays a crucial role in helping them decide which apps to download.

May 2011 research from MTV Networks found that recommendations from people they know and user reviews or recommendations were nearly tied as the top factor in discovering a new entertainment app for purchase or free download. The most effective pier to pier recommendation is still SMS. In Q4 of 2010, Canadians sent 16.4 billion person to person text messages.

When deciding to download a free entertainment app, mobile app users said the app store ratings were most important (50%), followed by personal recommendations from a trusted friend (43%). For paid apps, price was the leading factor (63%), with the availability of a lite version to try for free enticing 49% to download.

Once an app is discovered and downloaded, the question turns to whether users will keep that app loaded on their smartphones. Nearly eight in 10 respondents to the MTV Networks survey said they “often” swapped out old apps when they found new ones that better served the same purpose, so apps are always in danger of being replaced.

Even favorite apps, some used frequently, are often abandoned after a few months. Just 11% of users kept their favorite TV or movie app for at least a year, and only 17% kept their favorite gaming app that long. It was more likely in both categories for apps to wear out their welcomes in less than a month.

The survey indicated that ease of use, updated content and a pleasant look and feel were in demand for TV and movie apps, while gamers wanted a challenge and good gameplay.

Marketers must push out their apps to potential users, not rely on simple presence in an app store—even in a “featured” area—to bring in downloads. Using one of cell phone's most basic functions like SMS to market their apps make it easy to bridge the gap. Many brands boost app success by sending text links of free App download, surveys or other similar incentives when app users opt-in via a Short Code. That means not only the app experience must be solid and its function valuable to the consumer, finding ways to keep downloaders interested and engaged longer are also important for the brands.

More information can be found on MODI$club for you learn more about using SMS marketing to boost brands and app success. Or contact a representative at MODI$club for further discussion.


Reference Source: eMarketer

Brands Shift Focus of Mobile Outreach

Agencies say more clients are interested in Android devices and SMS advertising

As more consumers interact with brands via both smartphones and feature phones, marketers are approaching mobile advertising in new ways.

STRATA, a software company for media buying and selling, polled agencies about their clients’ preferences in Q1 2011. When it comes to mobile advertising, 37% of respondents said they are creating display advertising the most, and 25% noted SMS advertising. This is compared to 63% for display advertising and 15% for SMS advertising in Q4 2010.

Location-based advertising also doubled as a priority, with 7% of respondents saying they are mostly creating location-based advertising for clients, up from 3% in Q4 2010.

While the iPhone and Android devices receive a lot of press, the reality is that most consumers still have feature phones. And while smartphone owners are more engaged with their devices, many feature phone owners are also willing to interact with brands via mobile.

“SMS often gets overlooked, but the vast majority of users of all ages are texting,” said David Berkowitz, senior director of emerging media and innovation at digital marketing agency 360i, at the 2011 Public Relations Society of America’s Digital Impact Conference in May.

In September 2010 eMarketer forecast that SMS would be the biggest single mobile advertising format in 2011, with a 38% share of mobile advertising spending.

Not only are marketers shifting their advertising focus, but they are also open to working with various mobile devices. According to STRATA, 76.3% of respondents said their clients are most interested in advertising on the iPhone, down from 80.6% in Q4 2010. Android devices are also popular and 46.1% of respondents said clients were interested in advertising on Android, up slightly from 45.8% in Q4 2010. Interest in BlackBerry as an advertising channel, at 51.4% in Q4 2010, dropped to 35.5% in Q1 2011.

As mobile advertising becomes a bigger focus for marketers, they are diversifying their programs, and working with more devices and various types of ads. As consumers increasingly use smartphones or become accustomed to interacting with brands via SMS, marketers can reach specific groups and target audiences by using a mix of advertising and working with several platforms and devices.

Keep your business ahead of the digital curve. Learn more about SMS marketing and the tools that can effectively help you reach and engage your audiences now.

Referenced Article from eMarketer

58% Of Mobile Web Users Get Their Content Fix Through Browsers

Yes, smartphone apps are still in vogue, and most mobile app stores continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Yet consumers spend more time engaging with the mobile Web on their smartphones than through ad-supported apps, according to STAT (Simple Targeting & Audience Trends) report. It claims more than 58 percent of mobile internet users in the U.S. are getting content through their browser(s), compared to 42 percent via mobile apps.

An explanation for the discrepancy was not given, but I suspect this has something to do with the existence of more websites than there are apps, and that jumping from one app to the next to consume content isn’t as good a user experience as simply opening a new page or tab within your mobile browser of choice.

Additionally, a lot of major Internet services (Gmail, Bing, Google search etc.) tend to function as good or even better through the mobile browser than via native apps.

As for the favored mobile platform, SMS remains the most ubiquitous and effective one that works seamlessly with a mobile browser. Using SMS to bridge the gap between the end user and a mobile Web site should yield the best results.

Partially from Tech Crunch article by Robin Wauters