The data is there: People have a need to be entertained and have a need to be heard: Twitter knows this. This is the reason why they have to spend millions upon millions to buy their own servers as they have become too successful for their current infrastructure. For the same two reasons; people read and create blogs.
We need information to be taylored to our needs: we want relevant, entertaining news "alerts" to read in the short time that we can invest in it. We consume media in short bursts at convenient time.
This brings the cell phone back into my fold: you have this instrument on your person the whole day and use it to consume those small bursts. You read your emails, read what your frinds are up to on Facebook and follow your heros on Twitter. If you are a Blackberry or iPhone user, chances are that you have installed an App or two. Some of the most downloaded apps are those of News House Giants like Associated Press, Reuters, Time Magazine and some more "entertainment" based media like Oprah's "O"-magazine, Sports Illustrated and other niche publications. The point of the matter is that people have "gaps" in their schedule that they fill by utilising their mobile phones. That is why Twitter's 160 characters are so well received: We have limited time and only reading 160 characters is enough for us to determine if we want to click through to read more.
However, all of the above is Pull-marketing: The user have to consciously go into the media service to consume. None of the media gets "sent" to them. We get emails all the time that are "pushed" to us; so why not give people the opportunity to "receive" the content they require?
Vodacom's News4U
The idea is so simple: give the guy an option on how he can consume his media: Go into the app on his phone/ computer or push some highlights to him via email / MMS.
You have to remember that people are inherently lazy and preoccupied. Push their "infotainment" to them... remind them of your content...
The problem here is of course that, as any good mobile marketer will tell you, "pushing" is the biggest no-no in mobile because the mobile phone is the most personal communication tool aside from physically being with a person.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder then that Vodacom subscribers get increasingly pissed off about having their inbox jammed with a "service" they don't want, don't need and have never requested...
Right you are, Alexander. That is why the DMA SA has such stringent rules about double opt-ins to confirm that the recipient subscribed to the pushed messages.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is that people WANT info from trusted, relevant, entertaining sources. That is what "Brand affiliation" is all about. People "assosiate" with the brand and choose to get marketing messages and news content.
That is the whole idea behind the "social" part of social media. Recipients can feel "social" to the brand.
In Vodacom's defence. I have it on good authority that allthough some people complain, the majority of the recipients feel that the News4u is adding value to their lives. The same authority has confirmed that the opt-out rate on the messages after an MMS a day for ten months is less than 1%! Impressive by anyone's standards.