Digital

15 Reason You Should Buy The Invisible Sale TODAY

The week is finally here -- the official launch of my new book, The Invisible Sale and I want you to buy it TODAY!

It's a small ask on my part -- but if you've enjoyed the information I share here or learned a thing or two that you've applied to your company or career -- then I'd ask you to help me out by buying the book. I'm going to keep providing a ton of free, helpful content here and in our Insight & Information and Painless Prospecting newsletters, but this one time I'd really appreciate if you'd trade a few dollars to get some of my best content ever.

Or if you live in Chicago, Milwaukee, Boston, New York City, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Austin or New Orleans -- attend one of the private happy hour parties to celebrate the book's launch. You'll get a copy of the book and I'll be there, so I can sign your book and we can talk shop -- over cocktails of course. Best of all, 50% of all ticket sales are donated to one of 10 worthy charities and we're even providing free food and in most of the cities your first drink is on me!

Click Here to grab a ticket to any of the #ivs4charity book tour events.

What You'll Learn In The Book

I wrote the book as a tool not a trophy. My goal was to make sure you learned at least one new idea, tip, trick or marketing hack in each chapter. Judging by the early reviews, folks are getting that and a whole lot more. But just to help you see if this book is right for you... here are 15 things you'll learn.

You'll get statistics to support the argument that buyers today are conducting research online versus calling your company for materials.
You'll find case studies from companies that are using digital tools today to grow sales and increase market share.
You'll get a strategic framework that you can replicate to leverage your content marketing efforts for improved sales conversions.
You'll learn how to create helping content that your prospect invites into their world.
You'll learn the principles of Social Selling so you can use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to prospect and nurture leads without looking spammy.
You'll learn how to create Propinquity and why it should be the #1 goal of every sales and marketing program.
You'l learn how to create a strategically focused digital footprint designed to help you or your brand come into contact with prospective buyers.
You'll learn how to find and leverage the power of Social Agents to hear about sales opportunities you'd otherwise miss.
You'll learn how to create high quality video content on your own -- including tips from professional video producers and insight into the tools and applications you need.
You'll learn how to create better photographic assets, including advice on camera selection, mobile photography apps and tips for shooting better photographs.
You'll learn how to create more textual content -- blog posts, white papers, and ebooks... including content frameworks, apps and hacks to simplify the creation of text based content.
You'll find out why everyone is all excited about podcasting and how you can quickly and easily add podcasting to your marketing toolbox -- including practical advice and "how to" tips from professional podcasters.
You'll learn how to create recorded product demos and webinars, including suggested applications and approaches that work best.
You'll learn about how to use Cornerstones & Cobblestone as a content creation framework to simplify the content creation process helping you to produce and distribute more content without more people.
You'll learn how to convert inbound leads with Aikido Selling techniques specifically designed to close self-educating buyers.

How The Invisible Sale Is Different From Other Business Books

There are plenty of books on the market that tell you what you need to do and why you need to do it. But you need a book that doesn't just tell you what and why, you need a book that tells you how. You need a book that gives you a step-by-step blueprint to build and activate a digital prospecting program. And that book is The Invisible Sale -- a field guide to building a digitally powered marketing and sales system that will let you prospect while you sleep.

Recent Reviews of The Invisible Sale

Still not convinced - don't take my word for it. Here are what current readers are saying:

I loved the book as with each chapter you walk away thinking differently and sparking some ideas on how you can master the invisible sale. - Suzanne

Excellent book. I own a marketing company and some of trends and events that Tom talks about, I have experienced, but I thought they were anomalies. I'm realizing now that Tom has officially labeled this new type of marketing as the invisible sale. The radar is a great resource. I couldn't put the book down. - Erik

Posted by tommartin on October 17, 2013 in Advertising , Content Marketing, Digital , Social Media, Talks I've Given, Xtra Thoughts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

How To Network Like a Pro on LinkedIn

Lately I've been getting a lot more requests from to conduct LinkedIn Networking Workshops for B2B sales teams. It seems companies and organizations are finally waking up to the fact that LinkedIn is so much more than an online resume collection. At the same time I'm seeing an uptick in really bad LinkedIn networking attempts. So today I wanted to take a few minutes to share three simple tips that I usually reserve for our LinkedIn Workshops. If you'd like to hear more tips, you can always request a LinkedIn Workshop for your company. In the meantime, enjoy these simple starters.

How Not To Network On LinkedIn

For the love of God please stop sending the standard, LinkedIn connection requests. As soon as I see, "Hi, I'd like to add you to my LinkedIn Network" I hit delete. It's a pavlovian thing. When you send the standard LinkedIn connection message you're basically telling me that you don't really want to connect, you're just trying to build your rolodex or worse, you're a salesperson and you've got something to sell me.

Take the time to personalize the message. I'm not asking you to write War & Peace, but write something. Even if you just pick something out of the person's LinkedIn profile or I don't know, maybe take a second to check out their company, their Twitter profile or any of the information folks often connect to their LI profile. If at all possible, consider crafting something truly creative that rewards the prospective connection with a good laugh or something in exchange for reading your request to connect. The photo for this post is an actual LinkedIn Request sent to Ann Handley -- you can read her entire post here and see if she accepted the connection.

And lastly, while we're on this subject, don't ever try to connect with someone you don't know via the LinkedIn mobile app. When you click the connect button on the mobile app, it automatically uses the standard LI connection message. You can't change it or personalize it. It's a HUGE oversight in my opinion, but till they change it, you're better off just using the mobile app to connect with folks you actually have met in real life.

Read the rest of this post originally posted on my new Digital Sales & Marketing Blog

Posted by tommartin on May 06, 2013 in Digital , Social Media | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

21 Reasons You Should Join Me In Los Angeles

Have you seen the line-up for the BlogH.O.T Conference in Los Angeles this Spring?

If not, here are 21 reasons you should register. And here are a few of my favorite highlights:

CC Chapman -- Author of Content Rules, Amazing Things Will Happen and one of the most creative content marketing guys you'll ever get the chance to hear.
Chuck Hemann -- this guy has forgotten more about analytics than most of us will ever know. I mean, he's scary smart and if you're looking to figure out online analytics and how to leverage them on your website, blog or beyond, you want to talk with and hear from Chuck.
Drew McLellan -- crazy smart agency guy from the mid-west that really understands how to marry digital and traditional marketing. Are you having issues in that arena? If you are, yet another reason you should be joining me in LAX.
Joe Pulizzi -- this guy bleeds orange, but that's not why I like him. He is the king of content marketing. In addition to putting on a great conference himself (Content Marketing World) he is an incredible teacher that will fill your mind with ideas, strategies and tactics that you can start implementing as soon as you get back to the office.

And dear readers, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Mack Collier (who's also speaking) and a few other smarties have pulled this conference together and they have hand picked each and every speaker (including yours truly) and worked with each speaker to craft truly useful sessions. Best of all, the sessions aren't all just lecture style. There is plenty of hands on time and networking time with each other and the speakers.

But as crazy excited as I am to be speaking at and attending this conference, the reason I'm taking a few minutes to today to tell you about it is that Mack just let me know that TODAY and TOMORROW ONLY -- that's right this offer expires on Friday, January 11, 2013.....

You can get $300 off the early bird pricing!

So GO REGISTER... go now. And then drop me a note in the comments to let me know you're going to be there so we can grab a beer.

And one more thing... if you've noticed, I'm not blogging here nearly as much -- I've moved most of my blogging over to my company site -- so pop over to Converse Digital to see what I've been writing lately and to subscribe to get that blog by email!

Posted by tommartin on January 10, 2013 in Content Marketing, Digital | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Pinterest & Podcasts - Research

Have you switched your RSS or eMail sign-up to my new blog yet?

If not, you missed my latest posts:

How To Use Pinterest For Ethnographic Research (one of the most popular posts at the new blog)
Should My Company Be on Instagram or Pinterest - based on user demos, you might be surprised
The Art of B to B Sales Seduction -- if you're in the B2B Marketing or Sales world, you'll dig this one
How To Use Social Media For Consumer Research - great stuff on using Google Hangouts
Will 2013 Be The Year of The Podcast? - You be the judge, we give you the stats here

As you can see, I'm trying to pump out a lot of great stuff for you over at the new site, so why not check it out?

Converse Digital - Digital Strategy and B2B Sales Prospecting Strategy Blog

Once you get there, you'll see the Blog Sign Up and the Newsletter Sign-Up boxes... I think you'll like both.

Posted by tommartin on December 20, 2012 in Advertising , Content Marketing, Digital , Social Media | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Social Media: Reporting Live From Hurricane Isaac

As I sat in front of my computer seven years to the day from when Hurricane Katrina plowed through the Gulf Coast and watched the coverage coming out of New Orleans, I was struck by how much things have changed in just seven years.

During Katrina the biggest challenge we all faced was lack of local information -- boots on the streets local level real-time intelligence about the current state of our homes, neigborhoods, schools, friends and families. With phones not working, you were litterally in the dark.

Fast forward seven years to hurricane Isaac -- what I've effectionately begun calling the social media hurricane.

Last week social media was leveraged by my friends to stay in touch and share updates; by the media as they called on citizen journalists to help them get real-time, accurate information on the air and by smart brands that leveraged the opportunity to fuel nascent brand journalism efforts.

In short, as I sat safely typing in McComb, MS, I was feeling so very comfortable because I was just a click away from a tsunami of information that was showing me pictures, videos and updates of my city, my neighbordhood -- even my home, with most being fueled by social media and/or media footage captured with mobile phones.

Social Media & Citizen Journalism Powered Hurricane Coverage

All of our local New Orleans stations were calling on New Orleanians that stayed behind to ride out the hurricane to take and post pictures, videos and updates about their part of New Orleans. These Twitpics, YouTube and Facebook videos were making their way on to the TV screens and proving to be great sources of real-time information and insight into what's was going on in New Orleans.

And it wasn't just the news stations and newspapers. Individual reporters were taking to the social media airwaves to report, interact and in some cases cajole locals.

My favorite by far was WDSU Reporter Scott Walker who wasn't just using social media to ask for more content, he was interacting directly with local citizens to engage them and I'm sure drive more of them to favor WDSU's coverage over Fox's or WWLs. He was answering questions, pointing folks to helpful information or stories and he even drove down the streets of his neighborhood to show his neighbors the current state of affairs. Scott and a few of his fellow reporters really showed a wonderful grasp of the brave new digital world of media reporting, especially during major events like a hurricane.

But New Orleans' journalist were not alone in this embrace of new media. In fact I just finished a wonderful account by Gina Masullo Chen over at the Nieman Journalism Lab site, where she (a very recently transplanted southerner in Mississippi) talks about how she used a combination of professional and citizen journalism to keep up with the storm and find out the status of her new home.

Brand Journalism Coverage of Hurricane Isaac

Interestingly enough, this flood (pun intended) of information was being powered by brands as well as friends and media outlets.

The Hyatt Regency, itself just recently reopened after a seven year hiatus due to enormous storm damage it received at the not so gentle hands of Katrina, took the Isaac opportunity to engage and inform its followers on Facebook.

These updates were finding their ways into my stream and the stream of countless others, further ingratiating the brand and reminding me that it's one worth following on Facebook and beyond. Of course, given that my friend the brilliant Lauren Cason, is behind the marketing and social strategy over there, can't say that I'm all that surprised.

Still though, really smart work on their part. By Newsjacking the storm, they proved themselves a helpful brand and surely picked up additional brand awareness without having to spend a dime on additional advertising.

What Does The Future of Disaster Journalism Look Like?

So how does all this instant access to digital assets change storm coverage? That's the question I keep coming back to in my own head.

Today's news producer is used to managing a dozen or so reporters during a natural disaster. That's a pretty manageable river of information to consume, synthesize and then determine what information gets passed along and when. Further, the producer and the news anchors can realistically process all the information in totality to provide context to their reporting -- which is the real value of professional journalists in my opinion.

But with today's mobile technology, that same producer might be managing thousands of reporters. Are they ready? Are they equipped and are the systems they rely on today optimized for the fire hose of information social and digital tools can place at their fingertips?

Are they even physiologically capable? It's a serious question.

I (and I know a lot of my friends say the same) can't even play today's first-person video games. There is too much information coming at me on the screen, too many buttons to remember and manage. My brain litterally can't keep up. Yet my 13 year old son cruises along with no problem -- even having enough extra brain power to make fun of the old man.

My generation may have grown up with MTV, but today's generations grew up with HALO and Madden NFL. I had Pong. They have Call of Duty. And because of it, their brains are simply wired differently. Science has shown they can actually process information faster and make decisions more quickly than their elder brethren.

So does that mean news organizations shouldn't hire producers over 25?

Hee hee... but seriously, one has to question whether or not today's news organizations are staffed for the brave new digital world.

Does every newsroom need their own Neal Sampat? (Sorry only you The Newsroom fans will get that one)

Are we on the verge of witnessing a cataclysmic shift in news reporting bigger even than the invention of televised news?

What do you think?

5 Features That Would Make LinkedIn a World-Class Prospecting Platform

People You Wish You Knew

Right now LinkedIn will gladly show you people you may know. But aside from turning 2nd and 3rd Connections into 1st Connections, it's really not all that helpful for folks that want to prospect versus network.

Why not give me a daily or weekly email of people I wish I knew? Let me punch in key criteria and then based on that criteria, and my network, show me folks I don't know exist but based on my criteria probably would like to know exist. This goes well beyond the saved searches you can do currently.

LinkedIn Today

Encourage users to sign up to receive targeted, high-value content on topics they care about. I'm not talking about what LinkedIn has today. I'm talking about giving everyone on LinkedIn the opportunity to apply to become a writer for LinkedIn Today, as in a proprietary content platform owned and operated by LinkedIn.

Contributors and their contributions would be vetted and constantly scored. Thus, recepients of the information would be ensured of getting helpful information versus linkbait.

Contributors would provide the content for free in exchange for data in the form of notifications of who read their content.

Ideally, LinkedIn would track all of the content a person reads and roll that up into a profile that I as a contributor could access -- but only if the member had read one or more of my articles. How would that be for an incentive to write awesome content?

Video Greeting

People do business with people they like. Video is the ultimate tool to convey the true personality of a person, so why doesn't LinkedIn give us the ability to have a simple one minute or 90 second video greeting on our profile?

This gives the prospectee a chance to show themselves off a tad and the prospector a chance to better qualify which prospects are good vs bad fits and target accordingly.

UPDATE: The awseome Wade Kwon left a great comment -- he shows you how to use a Slideshare Video to hack LinkedIn to actually have a video greeting. I had seen that you could do this but mistakenly thought the video had to appear way down your profile (read, below the fold) but Wade just showed me how you can move it all the way to the first position! Here's how you do it.

LinkedIn Knowledge Base

The current Answers section is a start but it suffers from a few big problems. First, I have to go in search of questions to answer. Yes, you can subscribe to a category feed, but that can quickly become overwhelming.

Second, there needs to be a way to grade questions and those that post the question. Far too many of the "questions" posted in the Answer section are outright advertising or just plain stupid.

Instead, create a true knowlege base where every LinkedIn user can sign up to answer questions in up to five categories. The categories should be hyper-niched, thus forcing folks to focus on those areas where they have really deep knowledge vs trying to be a jack of all trades.

Members could have three settings -- send me no questions (I'll log on), send me all questions in my categories or just send me questions posed by users in key industries or from my prospect companies.

For those users that want LinkedIn to be a really targeted prospecting tool, the last option creates one hell of a Top of the Funnel prospecting tool.

LinkedIn Matchmaking Service

When someone is in the market for something business related, whether it be to hire a social media agency, locate a mobile web developer or maybe even hire a new employee, LinkedIn could be the match.com of that world.

Right now you can do pretty powerful searches on LinkedIn, but they're not perfect. Further, after that you're on your own. How much more effecient would a search be for both the buyer and seller (and that includes employer and prospective employee) if LinkedIn created a toolset within LinkedIn that made the sourcing, evaluation, meeting and even hiring/awarding of work a seamless, painless process within LInkedIn?

Painless Prospecting Is The Future

Technology, the economy and culture are combining to create a perfect storm. Today's sales person not only wants, but needs to know that every time they get on a call or attend a meeting with a prospect, that the prospect is already in buy mode and wants to buy what the seller is selling. Ineffeciency means you have to give up something you love to spend more time doing something you probably don't love -- prospecting.

Technology and data can and do make this dream a reality. We'll talk more about that reality in future posts. But for now, I can only hope that the biggest business platform in the world -- LInkedIn -- gives this post a read and finds a few items they can get behind and implement sooner rather than later to help make prospecting on LinkedIn a bit less painless.

So what do you think? Was this helpful?

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The Only Screen That Matters

Our job as marketers is to penetrate and persuade. So all of this talk about which screen comes first in a consumer's life is a bit off base.

As marketers, we don't need to worry about which screen is first, second or third in a consumer's life. We just need to worry about which screen is in front of them when they consume our content, advertising and communications. Because at that moment in time -- when they're consuming our message -- the only screen that matters is the one they're using. To succeed we have to be able to maximize the impact of the message on that screen.

Screen Planning for Marketers

If only it was as easy as "I'll create content for this screen or that screen" our jobs as modern day marketers would be so much simpler. But the hard truth is that today a consumer is likely consuming the same content on different devices.

Technology today allows us to start watching a movie on our TV (think Netflix for instance), then pick it back up on our phone for the train ride to work and maybe finish it up over lunch via our tablet -- all without ever missing a beat.

Printed content is worse. Laptop, iPad or mobile phone -- which device are you using to access my content? Is that the only device you've ever used? Will it be the only device you ever use?

Of course not. You'll access my content, your content and pretty much everyone's content on the most convenient screen available to you.

So we marketers have to develop multiple forms of content and marry that format to the screen the consumer is in front of at that very moment. We'll need technology that instantly determines a screen shift and contextually anticipates if and how the content or message should be reformatted based on the new screen/context situation.

The Role of Context in Content

You may be thinking to yourself, that's easy Tom. Technology can already do this. We can already determine which screen (mobile, tablet, computer, TV) a consumer is in front of when consuming our content.

And you'd be right. But what you're probably not considering is context.

If I'm reviewing your content on a mobile phone, why am I choosing that platform? Is it a form factor decsion? Is it indicative of physical context? Am I on the move or stationary? Am I in a deep information state of mind or a glance and go mode?

Consider that mindset/context versus the tablet screen. If I choose a tablet am I in lean forward or lean back mode? Am I going to consume more or less content than I would via my phone or a laptop or a TV. Am I in linear (entertain me) mode or non-linear (actively looking for specific content) mode?

The screen choice may or may not (only time and audience tracking will tell) answer these questions. Likely we'll need real-time behavioral inputs from the device itself to aid us in formatting or reformatting the content instantly to deliver the optimum message/content consumption experience that will not only penatrate but persuade the consumer.

Today's technology means that context matters now more than ever. That 500 channel world we grew up reading about has been surpassed by a 5,000,000 channel world accessable anytime, anywhere.

It's not about which screen is going to win.

Every new screen threatens to replace the previous one. TV was going to kill off radio (a metephorical screen). Computers and the Internet were going to replace TV. Mobile is going to kill computer, etc., etc.

It's not about which screen is going to win because none of them are going to win. Consumers will do as they have always done. They will pick the channel/screen that is the most convenient tool to consume the content they wish to consume in the manner in which they wish to consume it.

Our job is going to be figuring out how to determine not only screen but context. We'll need to develop deeper consumer profiles that go beyond demographic and pscychograpic targeting to real-time behavioral mapping and content presentation customization if we want to win the screen wars of the future.

Are you ready?

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Posted by tommartin on August 09, 2012 in Advertising , Digital , Mobile | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Using Social Media To Scale Employee Training

Jay Baer had an interesting post suggesting that Social Media Stunts Do More Harm Than Good. In it he examines a recent Doubletree "social media stunt" and asks if the stunt and others like it do more harm than good for brands.

First, there is no proof in Jay's post that this actually was a stunt -- it could be an honest example of a good meaning Doubletree employee going the extra mile.

Second, as I read Jay's post I had to ask myself if his question was valid?

You see, for Jay's question to be valid, you have to assume the target audience for the stunt was in fact the general consumer.

But what if it wasn't?

Employee Training By Social Media

Let's assume for the sake of argument (and this post) that this was in fact part of a planned social media stunt campaign on the part of Doubletree.

But let's not assume the target audience is the consumer.

Instead, let's assume the audience is the Doubletree employee base.

Now, how does that change the way you see the value of social stunts?

How could it change the value?

The Value of Social Media Stunts in Employee Training

I think you could actually make a valid argument for weaving these kinds of social media stunts into your employee training program. Here's why.

These kinds of stunts are actually great ways to communicate:

Pride: How can any Doubletree employee read about this story and not feel proud to be a member of the Doubletree family?
Expectations: As Jay notes in his post, and surely others have in their posts, the downside to these types of stunts is expectation setting. If consumers see these kinds of stories, are we training them to expect this kind of treatment on their next visit? Or are we suggesting to our employees that this is the level of expectation that we want to set? Knowing full and well we'll likely fall short more than we succeed.
Employee Policy: For large companies like Doubletree, it's hard to effectively communicate policy to every employee from general managers to the bellmen. But by crafting a social media stunt or maybe a series of stunts (assuming they gain traction) could companies more effeciently and effectively communicate policy to their employees in a way that is far more believable than any training manual?

In other words, could companies take a "lead by example" view of training? And would that be more effective?

There are countless examples of companies weaving great employee service delivery stories into their corporate lore. These stories are told again and again. They become a source of corporate pride and a visual and impactful reminder of the expectations the company sets for itself and its employees.

Maybe these social media stunts are just a modernized version of this storytelling?

I'll admit, this post may be half baked.... I'm not even entirely sure I agree with myself.... but Jay's post got me thinking and I wanted to share my thoughts with you and see what you think?

Care to chime in?

Posted by tommartin on August 06, 2012 in Brand Experience, Digital , Social Media | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Nordstrom Is Closed for Business

Have you ever heard of a retailer closing their store for 10 days to prepare for a sale?

Of course you haven't.... no retailer could afford to shut their doors for almost two whole weeks to prepare for a sale -- unless of course it's a Going Out of Business Sale.

But last night around 10p central time, that is exactly what Nordstom did.

Or did they?

When I went to the Nordstrom site this morning, I got this:

As you can see, the visual is strikingly similar to last night's, indicating that the screen my wife saw was not a fluke but a planned event.

BUT - notice the site ISN'T closed for business until the 20th as last night's screen shot suggested.

The site is simply pre-marketing an upcoming sale but the rest of the site works just fine.

But remember, my wife, and I'd argue anyone that saw last night's landing page thinks the site is down until July 20th.

So why should you care?

The New Retail Marketing Landscape

Actually, it's not just retail marketing, it's all marketing in my opinion. But we're quickly entering a new, third phase of the history of marketing.

In the beginning marketing was about interruption and it was advertising driven.

Then social media, Tivo and ad blocker software ushered in our current state of invitation marketing.

But with the advent of smartphones and now tablet computers, I believe we'll quickly move into an age of Propinquity Marketing marked by our ability and need to deliver contextually relevant messaging throughout each point in the purchase process.

Further, because today's untethered consumer is able to fulfill their need for instant shopping gratification, it's imperative that we're always available to them. That means not only 24/7/365 access via electronic stores but also, that those online retail locations are available in usable formats across all device sizes and formats.

The Glance And Go Consumer

My friend Tim Hayden likes to talk about the Glance and Go Consumer. How with mobile technology -- mostly the smartphone -- consumer information and gratification cycles are becoming increasingly ADD.

Thus, clarity of communication will become increasingly important. Function will overtake form as a driving design motivator and clarity of communication will begin to replace concept.

Marketing, at least at certain propinquity points, will morph from making the sale to helping the consumer make a buying decision. Marketing's role in the sales process will transition from push to pull and become more helpful and dare I say elegant.

It will be necessary if marketers wish to remain relevant because today's Glance and Go Consumer isn't going to stick around to figure out if your online retail store is really going to be closed for the next 10 days.

They're just going to pop over to your competitor, likely via a Google Search, and buy the same item from the competition -- which is exactly what my wife did.

So what do you think? Or more importantly, what do you think Nordstrom was thinking?

Let me know in the comments.

And if you'd like to learn more about Propinquity Marketing I'd be happy to chat. My company, Converse Digital can help you develop your Propinquity Marketing Strategy.

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Posted by tommartin on July 11, 2012 in Advertising , Digital , Mobile, Social Media | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

3 Reasons Tablets Are The Future of Marketing

Is the tablet a better form factor for consuming all kinds of information on a single device?

Is it going to become the dominant long-form information consumption entry point?

I think it is.... and here's why.

I think within the next five years you're going to see tablets fuel an information convergence that will give marketers the opportunity to fully deploy Propinquity Marketing strategy and tactics.

I'm not talking about Minority Report shiny object cool stuff like digital out of home that changes messages based on your proximity -- I'm talking real Guerilla Insights -- the ability to create audience profiles that overlay click, demographic and lifestyle data with content consumption and psychological archetypes to give content marketers the key to the kingdom -- not just knowing WHAT kind of content a consumer is interested in receiving but HOW they are most likely going to want/process that information. And you'll be able to tie all of that back to a single tablet/person.

Tablet Growth

Source: Morgan Stanley Research

According to a recent Morgan Stanley Research Report, Tablets adoption is projected to grow at a rate significantly higher than mobile smart phones or cell phones did in their first five years.

These predictions coupled with the growing availability of free or low-cost wi-fi at restaurants, airports, shopping malls and other public places, set the stage for the untethered consumer to access, create and share all forms of conent anyplace and anytime.

Tablets Are Built For Content Consumption

Source: AlphaWise & Morgan Stanley Resarch

Man was not meant to type. It's an unnatural position and it's uncomfortable. According to that same Morgan Stanley Report, over 75% of consumer computer usage involves the consumption and/or sharing of content.

But let's face it -- computers kind of suck as content consumption platforms. It's just not comfortable to stare at a laptop or desktop screen and balancing a hot (and getting hotter as you use it) laptop on your lap while sitting in a chair or on the couch is well, less than desirable.

Oh and let's not forget batteries... because computers burn through their batteries far faster than a tablet, even a mobile laptop is still more tethered than a tablet.

Tablets are also the first electronic device that combines all of the form factors required for an optimum content consumption experience.

Tablest offer the consumer:

Mobility – smaller and lighter form factors enable consumers to access computing resources and the Internet anywhere. Preference for smaller, lighter devices make it more practical than PCs, and enhanced browsing capabilities of mobile tablets set them above smartphones in this category
Connectivity – as noted above, consumers can access the increasing available public wi-fi, use mi-fi hotspots or the device's built in cellular data connectivity to enjoy "always on" internet access
OS innovation – tablets and smartphone interfaces are quickly finding their way into today's computers. Just look at the new MacBook's -- first it was trackpads and now you're seeing multi-gesture interface. Interacting with content on a tablet is intuitive and dare I say.... fun?
Power-efficient processors – power is life. And the ability to use tablets for long durations in between charges creates a truly untethered consumer.
Ideal form factor - large enought to hold with one hand but small and light enough to carry in a purse or briefcase, tablets bring together the screen real estate of a laptop with the mobility of a smartphone.

Tablets Are Familiar

Familiarity fuels adoption. Humans don't like change and resist it. So the more something new feels like something old, like something we're used to, the better chance adoption has to take root. Tablets are the first form factor to really provide this opportunity.

Tablets allow content to be consumed in a familiar look, feel and manner. When I real my WSJ on my tablet, it looks a whole lot like the WSJ I used to get delivered to my doorstep. When I read a book on the tablet, I turn the pages the same way I turn the pages of a normal book. Magazines look and feel like magazines on an iPad -- only now they also contain video and audio to round out the information offering.

This familiarity combined with the ability of one device to provide you with ALL the forms of content in a form factor that doesn't require any "trade-off" on the part of the consumer sets the stage for a true content convergence. While yes, I can watch video on my smartphone or read a magazine or newspaper, I have to give up ease of consumption (screen size limitations) to receive the mobility benefit -- not true on tablets.

Thus, as all (or a great deal) of your information consumption, social media activity and even content creation/sharing activity centralizes on one, trackable device, we marketers will for the first time be able to create a detailed, layered snapshot of who the device owner is, what they like/dislike, and how they prefer to learn about things or interface with people/information (archetypes) and use that unique profile to target advertising, content and messaging.

Think about it....

photo By Johan Larsson

Posted by tommartin on June 21, 2012 in Advertising , Digital , Mobile, Social Media | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)