Author: Rebecca

Facebook social media marketing ad format launch underscores mobile shortfalls

This recent addition by the giant network is shining a light on the failures marketers have made in connecting with smartphone users.

A recent addition to the Facebook social media marketing offerings is a new ad format that provides brands with the opportunity to engage with smartphone users once again when they have already previously installed their apps onto their mobile devices.

This also points out a number of flawed ideas that have developed regarding with mobile communications by marketers.

This new step has drawn attention to some of the flaws that have come up in the ways that Facebook social media marketing has been adopted by marketers in order to communicate with their audiences over mobile channels. The new format was designed to help to compensate for the failings in the way that the social network has been used in the past by advertisers.

There remain considerable weaknesses in the use of Facebook social media marketing, particularly over mobile.Facebook social media marketing for mobile

The new ad format is designed to help to overcome that problem by giving brands a way to develop a call to action for customers that have already downloaded the brand’s app from within the social network’s own application, but have then stopped using the brand’s app. As there will be a number of different formats available, it will be possible for marketers to direct mobile users on the social network to check out specific features and content from within their own apps.

The point of these new formats is to give brands the chance to obtain a new “second chance” in which they can engage with smartphone users once again after having encouraged them to download their app, but then having failed to keep them interested. This could provide advertisers with a considerable opportunity to communicate with users, or it may simply offer yet another way in which they will miss the point and generate only temporary interest in a brand.

The entire premise behind the Facebook social media marketing attempt is that if it is there, people will come to get it. Though this has many quite excited, there has been considerable skepticism expressed, as well. Only time will tell.

Augmented reality app makes drawings come alive

AR is becoming increasingly popular, with more invested into this tech than ever before.

There are many forms of technology that are taking off in the mobile sphere, and among them, a great deal of attention is being focused on the augmented reality app and the potential it has for a range of different purposes.

From real time guides for mechanics and surgeons to digital consumer products, it has potentially limitless uses.

This year, there will be an estimated investment of $670 million into the development of an augmented reality app of one form or another. These applications can be as serious as those providing guidance to heart surgeons who need to be able to track the location of various circulatory pathways, to jet engine repair instructions, to entertainment as seemingly simple as telling children’s bedtime stories or bringing a child’s drawings to life.

These two categories of augmented reality app forms are considered to have equally lucrative potential.

Augmented Reality App for drawingThe Colorapp, for instance allows a child to be able to color in printable drawings that appear to then spring to life when they are viewed through a smartphone or tablet that is running the application. Of course, this is far from the only digital toy that uses this tech for kids. Tocaboca provides another range of AR options, including the Toca Hair Salon Me, the Toca Doctor, and Toca Builder, all aimed at entertaining children.

This is quite appealing to parents, as well, who enjoy the fact that their children have a highly appealing and entertaining option that is non-competitive, open-ended, and that does not include violence – an achievement that is increasingly rare in today’s children’s toy marketplace.

For adults in business, on the other hand, there are also some applications that can help to bring back appeal in areas that could otherwise be rather drab. A traditional line of slides can be dressed up for the audience using eMaze, which provides a range of professional looking templates that enhance a presentation.

It is expected that this type of augmented reality app, as futuristic as it seems today, will be nearly commonplace by the end of next year as a growing number of companies discover ways that they can use it to appeal to customers and clients.