Directing SEEKERS to visit your website
Asking VIEWERS to become a SUBSCRIBER, FAN, or FOLLOWER with a clear CTA with stated benefits
Turning VIEWERS into AMPLIFIERS (and hopefully, FOLLOWERS) with inclusion of a provocative hashtag (#Sharknado, anyone?)10
Encouraging CUSTOMERS to become AMPLIFIERS by sharing product experiences on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere
Turning VIEWERS into DONORS with an SMS call to actionb
It’s not enough to slap up your URL, flash a hashtag, or show social media icons within your commercials. To truly drive proprietary audience growth, you must make your CTAs clear and persistent enough for consumers to engage with them. And if that’s not a challenge your creative director is willing to tackle, go get another one who understands both advertising and Proprietary Audience Development.
From Viewer to Engaged SEEKER—Shazam!
You may know Shazam (@Shazam) as the mobile app that took first-generation iPhone users by storm with its ability to “listen” to a song and provide the title, artist, album, and purchase options. Today, Shazam can listen to just about anything including television commercials. Advertisers like Old Navy (@OldNavy), Toyota (@Toyota), and Pepsi (@Pepsi) pay Shazam to “tag” their commercials so VIEWERS can use the app to listen to them and then be connected to the brand’s website, offer, or promotion. From there, those VISITORS may become CUSTOMERS, AMPLIFIERS, or JOINERS of any type. So don’t just listen to TV next time, try Shazam-ing it.
Tactic #19: SMS
There’s one thing that every single cell phone in the world can do in addition to make calls, and that’s send text messages. Along with email, SMS is an original permission-based SUBSCRIBER channel. And as discussed in Chapter 18, SMS also remains an extremely cost-effective way to communicate with mobile consumers at scale. Considering that around 95 percent of text messages are read within 15 minutes of receipt, SMS is a great way to cut through the clutter and trigger real-world consumer engagement.11
You can build and engage SMS SUBSCRIBERS in a number of ways, including:
Alerts: Service alerts can encourage SMS SUBSCRIBERS to become SEEKERS of more information or AMPLIFIERS of timely public safety (e.g., Amber Alerts) or weather (e.g., tornado warnings) issues.
Automated keyword response: With SMS, you can set up specified keywords that, if texted to your specific short code (number), will generate an automated response. This is a great way to manage and respond to FAQs in a mobile setting.
Coupon codes: Text offers can turn SMS SUBSCRIBERS into not only CUSTOMERS but also AMPLIFIERS if codes are allowed to be shared.
Email acquisition: SMS users text the word SUBSCRIBE and their email address to your short code. In an instant, you convert mobile consumers to valuable email SUBSCRIBERS.
Geofencing: This service allows you to push SMS messages to SUBSCRIBERS within a specified city, proximity, or radius—a great way to push SHOPPERS into nearby stores.
Linked content: For those SMS users with Internet access, the provision of linked content within SMS messages provides far more detail than a short message ever could. Such links help turn your SMS SUBSCRIBERS into READERS, LISTENERS, and VIEWERS in a single click.
Text messages may be short, but they can be long on value with a bit of creative thinking about how to engage your mobile CUSTOMERS and PROSPECTS.
Resource Recommendations:
Mobile Marketer (@MobileMktrDaily)—www.mobilemarketer.com
Mobile Marketing Magazine (@MMMagTweets)— www.mobilemarketingmagazine.com
Tactic #20: Mobile Apps
If you have successfully built a mobile app, congrats—you have yet another proprietary channel through which to build and engage audiences. It is critical to your app’s long-term success (engagement) that you seek permission from each SUBSCRIBER upon initial download to send them push messaging. Push messages are in-device messages that pop up on the iPhone screen and within the messaging center on Android devices. They enable you to:
Encourage reengagement.
Notify users of app updates and new features.
Notify users of activities within their games or accounts.
At initial launch of the app, you should also seek to encourage your mobile app SUBSCRIBERS to opt-in to email communications. Obtaining an external means of communication with your mobile app SUBSCRIBERS is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the continued use of your app. Without the ability to email mobile app SUBSCRIBERS, you lack an external, non–app–based communication channel through which you can reengage dormant users. And in a growing universe of 1.5 billion apps, those who can’t communicate with mobile app SUBSCRIBERS both inside and outside their apps risk watching their app usage wither away to nothing.