Article Archive by Sophia Mowatt

Three New Features You Should Know About On LinkedIn

by Sophia Mowatt

Within the last two weeks LinkedIn has introduced multiple changes to make connecting with other sociable professionals easier.  Here are the top three we think you should know about.

Endorsements

You can now endorse your LinkedIn connections for a skill that they have listed on their profile or better yet, you can recommend them to add a skill that they haven’t listed.  There are two ways to endorse your connections:

1. By going to the new Skills & Expertise (beta) page from the “More” drop down menu on the LinkedIn home page.

2. By clicking the yellow “Endorse” button in the blue box on the profile page of your                        connection as you can see in the screenshot below.

LinkedIn will notify you by email if you get endorsed. You can also scroll to the bottom of your profile page to see the people who’ve endorsed your skills.

Follow Professionals
As you might know, if you aren’t a colleague, old classmate, friend, in a group with or done business with someone on LinkedIn you cannot connect with them.  Now, LinkedIn has made it possible to follow other professionals.  Currently, you can only follow what LinkedIn considers 150 of the most influential leaders.  Some of those as you can see in the screen shot below include Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Sir Richard Branson.

Once you follow any of these thought leaders, you will be able to like, comment and share their posts.  Fortunately, LinkedIn plans to expand their list of influencers within the next few months to individuals who they consider to be industry specific movers and shakers.  Want to get on that list?  LinkedIn is also offering you the opportunity to submit a request to become an influencer by going to http://partner.linkedin.com/influencer/.

New Company Pages
LinkedIn started testing new company pages a few weeks ago a select few companies. Recently they rolled out the new company pages to more than 2 million companies.  The changes on the new company pages are mostly aesthetic.  It now includes room for a larger cover image, easily visible content and they are now viewable on mobile devices.  You can see what the new company pages look like in the screenshot below.

Mobile Advertising: The Way Consumers Are Navigating Mobile Websites

by Sophia Mowatt

Previously we posted “5 Reasons To Use Mobile Advertising” to our blog, to help advertisers understand the importance of utilizing mobile campaigns as part of their marketing plan.  This week Google released infographic statistics on how mobile consumers are using mobile websites by industries.

Mobile Banking and Financing Industry
Consumers are most concerned with checking their  account balances, transferring money and paying bills.

Mobile Travel Industry
Consumers are most interested in checking flight status and confirming reservations.

Mobile Retail Industry
Consumers like to contact a store and find product information.

Mobile Automotive Industry
Consumers are focused on contacting the dealership and making service appointments.

To reiterate, 67% of mobile users say that they’re more likely to buy a product or service from a mobile-friendly site, and 74% say they’re more likely to return to that site in the future.

The mobile industry is growing rapidly and consumers are looking to make buying decisions quickly and efficiently.   Have you effectively optimized your company’s mobile experience?

5 Reasons to Use Mobile Advertising

by Sophia Mowatt

Did you know that internet searches on mobile devices have grown 4x since 2010? (1 Google Internal Data)  With the launch of the iPhone 5 last week and the Nexus 7 Google Play tablet the week before, the mobile industry shows no sign of slowing down.   Whether you are just looking to increase brand recognition or to sales, competing in mobile advertising is vital.
Here are 5 reasons why you should utilize mobile pay per click advertising:

1. Mobile Specific Ad Copy.  With a mobile advertising campaign you can customize your ad copy with mobile specific call to actions, such as “Request a quote from your phone,” that will appeal to mobile users.  Google research shows that mobile-only campaigns help drive an 11.5% increase in mobile click through rates and a 29% increase in mobile clicks, which in turn increases ROI.
2. Target Specific Mobile Devices.  With mobile device targeting, you can modify your advertising to specific devices and phone carriers.    This is tremendously helpful for advertisers who build mobile websites on specific operating systems or mobile apps built on a particular platform.
3. Make It Easy For Customers To Connect.  With the mobile click-to-call ad extension feature, ads that include this feature have experienced 6 — 8% increased click through rates according to Google.  In addition, you are more likely to get a qualified lead and a customer to buy when they call your business directly from your mobile ad.
4. Have a Mobile App?  Use mobile app extensions to link ads directly to your App Store page on either Google Play or iTunes.  This allows customers to download your mobile app instantly.
5. Diversified Ad Formats.  Advertisers can still use rich media image and video ad formats on mobile devices.  There are many options available in the way you advertise on mobile devices such as interactive clickable video ads or image banners ads.

Improve your advertising performance and build a better brand by utilizing mobile advertising for your business.