Viral Marketing Goes Mobile

Mobile devices, mobile phones and PDA’s are one of the last great frontiers of viral advertisement opportunities. However, we have become experts at filtering everything, our air and water, our e-mail and pop-ups, and our mobile devices as well. We are good at filtering.

The very idea of unwanted advertising streaming through our Blackberries is abhorrent. Mobile devices are the ultimate opt-in medium and, therefore, a great way for marketers to connect with users…if that’s what the users want. “WANT” is the key word here. How should marketers approach the medium?

There are three main ways to achieve this. They are:

1. Offer exclusive content. Anyone can offer ring tones. It’s the unique content, such as exclusive mobile images of new brand concepts, that drives interest and calls them out in other media like e-mail campaigns, newsletters, websites, etc. So a wireless campaign is most effective when it offers exclusive content for wireless devices.

2. Make it useful and timely. Think about what would be handy and helpful to have on a mobile device. Last year, for example, Food Network enabled Sprint customers to download shopping lists for their Thanksgiving dinners. There was a lot of “Sprint-envy” going around among non-sprint customers.

3. Clearly define objectives. Usually, one of two business objectives drives successful mobile experiences: incremental revenue of brand intimacy. On the intimacy factor, a text message usually takes priority over almost any other form of communication. Why? Because we haven’t yet been saturated with mobile spam, and this is what causes us to prioritize wireless messaging over voice.

Mobile marketing has been out there for a while but we marketers have new territory to explore. Video offers fantastic opportunities for engagement. Consumers already bypass their filters for highly useful or entertaining content and will do so for rich exclusive, compelling content.

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Who Should Consider Becoming an Affiliate?

Have you ever thought that your skills and expertise were being wasted? You apply all of your creative know how and ability for your boss and their company for very little reward. Have you ever considered taking those skills and making them work for you instead of someone else? Have you looked into your own business enterprise only to realize the capital you need is way beyond what you can raise? If you have answered yes to any of these questions then becoming an affiliate could be the answer your are looking for.

Many of us would love to start our own businesses but two things generally stop us. The first being money and the second being risk. You need a significant amount of capital to start even a small sole proprietorship. Even though financing is available there is still the risk factor. A fairly large percentage of small businesses fail in the first year. If you make it through that first year then there are still several challenges that have to be met. It could be five years before you see any real profit. Most of us cannot wait this long. We need a constant flow of money coming in to meet our daily obligations.

Becoming an affiliate can get you started on the road to independence with no risk to you. By becoming an affiliate you work to sell or increase the revenues of another company. This can be done in a variety of ways. You can work, selling a particular line of products. The head company takes care of the advertising and creation of the items; you simply work out how to sell them. You are paid for your performance. The more you sell the more you make.

You can also create an online affiliate marketing business. If you’re creative and handy at making websites then this could be the perfect opportunity for you. By allowing your site to become an affiliate site with a major search engine, you could make large amounts of profit with ad revenue. Companies such as Yahoo publisher and Google ad sense can help to get you started. They handle all of the advertising costs and placing allowing you to concentrate on bringing traffic to your site. There is no cost to you and absolutely no risk.

People who enjoy independence and flexibility in their work make good affiliates. Those that desire or need flexible working hours can gain the most from being an affiliate. You paid according to how well you perform, not on how many hours you work. You can schedule your work around other things such as families or other commitments. If you’re independent and a self starter than a career as an affiliate is perfect for you.

If you are creative, motivated and driven then possibly consider becoming an affiliate. You can run your own affiliate business from home with no cost or obligation to you. If you are good at working independently then as an affiliate you can’t go wrong. You’ll have the freedom to work as and when you please and will realize the rewards of your own hard work. Start putting your skills and creativity to work for you rather than someone else. What you receive in return will be well worth it. Consider a career as an affiliate, you nothing to loose and everything to gain.