Innovative mobile applications will drive insurance industry quoting behavior in 2012, according to a new white paper

lonelybrand’s new white paper, "Mobile Applications: Driving quoting behavior in 2012" uses custom data to guide insurance marketing strategy in 2012. The digital strategists at lonelybrand take a close look at ten innovative examples of how the industry can use mobile to drive quoting behavior. The white paper also provides trend analysis and tips on how to get the maximum value out of mobile.

For more information, download the free white paper here.

This 17-page white paper discusses:

• Game changing mobile white space in the insurance industry
• Why innovation trumps expectation in the mobile space for the insurance industry
• Why Apple leads development for mobile insurance applications
• Why offering free applications might be a symptom of a bigger problem
• Analysis of 10 leading insurance industry mobile applications
• Recommendations for mobile application development for 2012 and beyond

lonelybrand’s Top Five Predictions for Digital Communications in 2011

Prediction, presage, prognosis, prevision or prophecy (yes; I know how to use a thesaurus). The only real measure of how reliable one “oracle” is over another is the measure of accuracy over time.

I’m not a digital advertising prophet, but I do get enough exposure to digital communications to have a pretty good idea what’s coming. Here’s the links to my 2009 and 2010 predictions for advertising, the economy and innovation. Take a few minutes and give them a read – or just skip below for my 2011 predictions for digital communications.

ADMAVEN’s 2009 Advertising Predictions

KEY EXCERPT: [Web] 2.0 strategies will be more palatable. Smaller budgets and the desire to be more frugal will make [Web] 2.0 much more attractive to medium and large companies around the world. Social media will play a big role in this development, and agencies poised to bring a solid, procedural model with built in metrics will find new business quickly.

2010 Predictions: Conscious Capitalism and Vertical Learning (written in partnership with Maddock Douglas)

KEY EXCERPT: Secondly, but more importantly, the consumers will drive this change. With the power to choose products and services created by companies who no longer see business as a machine driven by profit only, consumers will exercise this measure of control to empower companies that not only empower them, but also facilitate change for the world.

lonelybrand’s Top Five Predictions for Digital Communications in 2011

1) The economy has started to show signs of recovery. The last two months of 2010 display a stock market on the rebound and production creeping in the right direction. However many marketing jobs downsized during years past won’t be making a return. Agencies and brands will continue to juggle keeping up with ever-evolving technologies while executing day-to-day duties. 2011 will be the year of the outsourced digital expert. Firms that build themselves on pure-play digital will step in to help brands and agencies stay afloat while executing outstanding digital communications to their clients and customers. lonelybrand has seen the demand grow – even in the last two months. The good news is that the relationship provides a way to get an internal team up to speed on effective digital communications techniques without risking huge budgets needed to hire the six key individuals required to effectively connect with consumers online. OK – that last part was a dose of my personal ethos – but it’s how I work and so far it hasn’t failed to produce.

2) What’s all this talk about the coming “App Revolution” or “Appocolypse” that will fundamentally reshape the way consumers receive messaging? 2011 will be a year of continued trending to mobile, but I’ve got some news for you: the smartphone thing is already showing signs of hitting a plateau in America. The global market is still a major growth sector for smartphone technology, but the real lesson here is mobile marketing should be a key piece of your digital communications budget in 2011. It’s appropriate for almost every brand and agency, and the costs of entry are so low versus the potential upside it’s almost a no-brainer. Apps have already changed a lot about online behaviors, but the biggest shift has already happened. Expect to see more agencies and brands play catch up as new budgets ripen in early 2011.

3) The Music Industry is in a lot of trouble. It’s because they’ve spent their time and once considerable assets fighting digital communications trends rather than embracing them. 2011 will be a make-or-break year for something we all love: music. What does this have to do with trends in digital marketing and advertising? Think of it as a lesson in exploration. Agencies and brands that aggressively expand their digital communications programs will come out on top. Learning the key steps to reducing risky capital outlay while increasing success rate is the secret. As Quincy Jones, producer of "Thriller" and nominated for a record 79 Grammy awards recently told me, “Artists, producers, songwriters and A&R folks: rise up to the challenge and make your album so good that fans will want to buy the whole thing. I realize every album can’t have six or seven top ten singles like Michael Jackson and I were blessed with on “Thriller” and “Bad,” but you’ve got to try. If it’s good enough, the fans will buy it. Maybe they’ll want to whet their appetite by only buying a track or two at first, but if you keep coming out with good tracks and pique their interest, they’ll be back.” Remember prediction number one? Those are the folks who will help agencies and brands smart enough to bring in outsiders blossom in the year to come.

4) Disciplined CRM and email marketing will continue to generate a stable platform of inbound lead generation and conversions. We’ve been hearing it for years now: email marketing is old school, old hat and on it’s way out the door. Tell that to Groupon. Sometimes (yes, even in our fast-paced digital world) it’s less about exotic technology and more about the discipline to produce consistently. Email marketing combined with quality social CRM will continue to drive big results in 2011. Agencies and brands with a quality content calendar backed by the staff to execute will retain and grow their customer base. Look for more companies to begin injecting social data into their CRM toolset, producing targeted and increasingly relevant communications with outstanding open rates.

5) Analytics will finally make it to the boardroom. When you run a campaign or communications program in the digital world it only makes sense to measure progress. Look for large up-front spends on strategy and development to give way as more agencies and brands realize the risk posed by front-loading a digital marketing budget. The smartest companies will understand that incremental program execution combined with powerful analytics (and the personnel to quantify meaning from the raw data) is a great way to minimize risk and maximize reward. I recommend using an analytics package(s) that can read demographics, see long-term trends and analyze real-time data.

I hope you take these predictions to heart as you plan your business development strategies for 2011. I spend my days making sure agencies and brands are covering all the bases by augmenting and executing tactics that get results. Want to know more? Let’s talk.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Content and Social Media Marketing Success Secret: Create Your Core Branded Destination

Part 2 of a 3-Part Guest Series by Susan Gunelius. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Content marketing and social media marketing are hotter than ever, but with so many tools, tricks, and so-called experts telling you different things you have to be doing to be successful on the social web, you can end up feeling overwhelmed with no idea where to begin or what to do next.

Relax. Take a deep breath and remember that content marketing and social media marketing are exactly what they claim to be -- forms of marketing, and the underlying theories of marketing still apply.

Therefore, your content marketing and social media marketing efforts need to be based in the fundamental principles of marketing theory to be successful over the long-term. Before you create a Twitter account, add yourself to Facebook, or start a blog, you need to set yourself up for content and social media marketing success by understanding the most basic secrets to content marketing success, which are rooted in integrated marketing and cross-promotional theories. The first of those secrets is the importance of creating a core branded online destination.

As you participate in the social web conversation, publish content, and share information, you’ll do so on a wide variety of websites, blogs, social networks, forums, and so on. In order to make those various efforts a valuable part of your content and social media marketing plans, all roads must lead back to what I call your core branded online destination as mentioned in step 9 of my previous article published on ADMAVEN, “10 Tips to Develop a Content and Social Media Marketing Strategy.”

In other words, as you build your online reputation and develop relationships with people online, you should do so with the goal of bringing them back to your core branded online destination where they can get more of your amazing content and you can deepen your relationships with them. Never boldly demand that people come to your core branded online destination. Instead, quietly offer a link to your core branded destination or make a reference to your useful content, so your audience feels in control of your interactions. In time, your most engaged audience will follow you, tell their own connections about you, and share your amazing content, opening the doors for you to engage with even more people!

I always recommend a blog as the core branded online destination because of its flexibility in terms of the type of content you can publish as well as its search friendliness. Even if you don’t own an online business, blogging can help you as your core branded online destination because of one simple thing -- Google.

Think of it this way -- if you build a company website with 10 pages, that gives Google 10 entry points to find you, index your content, and deliver your site in keyword search results. Now, imagine that you add a blog to your website and publish a new post every day for a year. That gives you 365 more entry points for Google to index and deliver in search results. Now, imagine that you publish amazing content that people want to share with their own audiences (I call this shareworthy content). They write about your posts on their own blogs, tweet links to your posts, share them on LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg, and so on. Suddenly, your original 10 entry points have grown to hundreds or thousands simply because you did two things:

1. You connected with your target audience across the social Web and made an effort to bring them back to your core branded online destination.
   
2. You published amazing content that your audience wanted to share and talk about with their own followers.
   

You’d be crazy to pass up that kind of access to people!

Therefore, the first secret you need to follow in order to put yourself on the path for successful content and social media marketing is to set up your core branded online destination, start publishing amazing content there, and then, work to build relationships across the web and bring people back to your core branded online destination for further interactions, learning, and sharing.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series where you’ll learn the second biggest secret to getting started on a path to content and social media marketing success -- Surrounding Consumers with Branded Experiences -- coming next week on ADMAVEN.

You can read more about creating a content and social media marketing strategy in Susan Gunelius' new book, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, which is now available in book stores and online. ADMAVEN readers can follow the link to get a free bonus chapter, which is available for download from McGraw-Hill.
Susan Gunelius spent over a decade directing marketing programs for some of the biggest companies in the world, and today, she is President and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. You can follow Susan on the social Web on Twitter (@susangunelius), Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

10 Tips to Develop a Content and Social Media Marketing Strategy

Part 2 of a 3-Part Guest Series by Susan Gunelius. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Content and social media marketing are hotter than ever, and you might be tempted to dive in and catch some of the so-called lightening in a bottle that you've heard about. While it's true that every day you wait to get started with content and social media marketing is a missed opportunity, you should take some time before you invest too much time and energy to do some research and create a strategy that will actually help you meet your goals.

With that in mind, take a step back and read through the following tips to develop a content and social media marketing strategy to ensure you set yourself up for success from the start:

1. Find out what your competitors are doing online. Look for gaps and opportunities.
   
2. Learn where your customers spend time online. Listen to their online conversations and join them to start building relationships with them.
   
3. Define the demographic and behavioral makeup of your best audience. This is your target audience.
   
4. Define your primary social media and content marketing messages and the added value you will bring to the online conversation.
   
5. Determine your 1-year objectives for your content and social media marketing efforts.
   
6. Define your brand promise and your brandís position relative to your competitors in the marketplace so you can differentiate yourself in consumersí minds.
   
7. Develop an honest assessment of the money and time you can invest into content and social media marketing over the next 12-months to determine what you can realistically afford in terms of outside help.
   
8. Find the online influencers who have the ears of your target audience and get on their radar screens by commenting on their blogs, tweeting them, and reaching out to them via social networking and/or email.
   
9. Create a great core branded destination to which all of your content and social media marketing efforts will lead back to. This is where youíll deepen relationships through interaction and providing amazing, shareworthy content that your audience will want to talk about and share with their own audiences thereby extending your exposure across the Web.
   
10. Surround consumers with branded online destinations, so they can self-select how they want to interact with your brand. You can't be everywhere, but itís important to provide alternative ways for people to engage with you (not everyone likes to read blogs or use Twitter). Give your audience more options without spreading yourself too thin. Quality of content and relationships trumps quantity when it comes to building long-term, sustainable, organic growth for both your online presence and your business.
    

You can read more about creating a content and social media marketing strategy in Susan Gunelius' new book, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, which is now available in book stores and online. ADMAVEN readers can follow the link to get a free bonus chapter, which is available for download from McGraw-Hill.

Susan Gunelius spent over a decade directing marketing programs for some of the biggest companies in the world, and today, she is President and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. You can follow Susan on the social Web on Twitter (@susangunelius), Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing Part 3

Marcus Sakey was an award-winning copywriter on brands ranging from JCPenney to World Championship Wrestling until he left the business to write novels. His books have been translated into a dozen languages, labeled “nothing short of brilliant” by the Chicago Tribune, and chosen among Esquire Magazine’s Top 5 of the Year. His latest, THE AMATEURS, will be released on August 6th. Marcus approached ADMAVEN to tell his story and detail how he uses social media marketing to go above and beyond traditional publisher driven advertising. I found his story compelling, and I am not receiving compensation for allowing Marcus to guest post. With that being said, Marcus will detail his story in three posts that will appear on ADMAVEN weekly.

This is the final installment of my guest editorials at ADMAVEN, and I’d like to thank Nick for the opportunity, and all of you for reading—very much appreciated!

Last week I wrote about how even novelists need to build and maintain a brand. Today I’d like to talk about one specific way I did that, taking advantage of social networking.

Twitter is today’s buzz topic, and a lot of agencies and clients are trying to find ways to maximize the value it offers. To my mind, the most important thing is to remember that Twitter was created so that people could keep up with one another, not so they could be marketed to. The worst thing you can do on Twitter is treat your followers like a passive crowd that you talk at—or worse, sell at.

Okay, fine. But what does that mean?

Well, for me it meant that first, I waited to leap to Twitter until I had an idea of what I wanted to say. I didn’t want to just shout about my books. Also—and this is important—I didn’t want to be an early adopter. Unless you’re Ashton Kutcher, the benefit to being first to something like Twitter is outweighed by the cost in time and message. Remember that before Twitter there was Facebook and before Facebook there was MySpace and before MySpace there was Friendster and before Friendster there was AIM and before AIM…you get the picture.

The next thing you want to do is maintain a direct connection. That means replying to people. It means re-tweeting interesting posts. It means shooting thank you messages to people who follow you. It means spending some time being a real live person.

Beyond general interaction, I wanted to do something that would A) increase the number of people subscribing to my posts, and B) promote my new novel to a large group, while C) not being annoying.

All of which added up to a contest. A carefully planned contest.

My new novel, THE AMATEURS, is about four friends in their early thirties who are dissatisfied with their lives, and who make a risky plan to try to take what they think they deserve. Along the way, the meet every week or so to chat and drink and play games, one of which is called “Ready, Go.” It’s essentially a question game:

“If your best friend killed someone, how far would you go to help them cover it up? Ready, go.”

So for my contest, I decided to host a two-week round of Ready, Go. Every day I would tweet a question. To enter, all you had to do was re-tweet your answer, and tag it with @MarcusSakey and #TheAmateurs. Every answer counted as an entry. My publisher, Dutton, generously provided a prize package, about $1000 in hardcover books (A significant prize is important—small prizes feel small, and no brand wants that).

The idea was simple. At this point, being relatively new to Twitter, I didn’t have a huge network. But this contest took advantage of the networks of everyone who entered. Every time someone responded with:

“I’d help bury the body. @MarcusSakey #TheAmateurs”

it flashed out to their entire network. Thus my name, and the title of my new book, appeared on thousands of screens everyday for two weeks. Not only that, but because the questions led to intriguing answers, a lot of people in those networks checked out what had prompted the reply—and ended up subscribing to my posts.

Of course, at the heart of this is that personal connection. This wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t a real person putting it together, maintaining it, responding to some of the juicier answers—in other words, interacting. Which is what social networking is all about.

Anyway, I’d like to thank ADMAVEN again for the opportunity. If you liked what I had to say—or if you hated it—please let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

Better yet, if you like to read, check out my new book, THE AMATEURS. I think you’ll like it.

Cheers!

-Marcus Sakey

Interact With ADMAVEN on Twitter

PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> Controlling Google Search Results Essential For Job Seekers

> Chicago Media Marketing & Advertising August Meetup Conclusion and Pictures

> Chicago Tonight Hosts ADMAVEN on Social Media in the Job Hunt

Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing Part 2

Marcus Sakey was an award-winning copywriter on brands ranging from JCPenney to World Championship Wrestling until he left the business to write novels. His books have been translated into a dozen languages, labeled “nothing short of brilliant” by the Chicago Tribune, and chosen among Esquire Magazine’s Top 5 of the Year. His latest, THE AMATEURS, will be released on August 6th. Marcus approached ADMAVEN to tell his story and detail how he uses social media marketing to go above and beyond traditional publisher driven advertising. I found his story compelling, and I am not receiving compensation for allowing Marcus to guest post. With that being said, Marcus will detail his story in three posts that will appear on ADMAVEN weekly.

Last week I talked a little about where I came from—First Turner Broadcasting, then a design company of a dozen people, finally freelancing for companies like DDB and Leo Burnett—and how I got from there to here, working as a professional novelist. One of the things I learned is that while the game has changed, the rules remain the same—the point is to reach as many people as effectively as possible.

A lot of people have an idea of novelists as reclusive, hiding in their garrets and typing away in the midnight hours. And some are like that. But I believe that careful management of your brand, even as an author, can measurably expand success.

There are a lot of ways to build a brand in my business. Some of them are traditional—touring, speaking events, teaching, attending conferences, running traditional ads. And all have their advantages. But these days, the real benefits are in new media, the web, and social networking.

The reasons are the same for me as they for a shoe company. For the first time since we lived in villages, there’s the opportunity for producer and consumer to meet directly. Not only that, but it’s cheaper and effective.

What does that mean for me? Well, first a website. And not just a sales piece, but something honestly beneficial to a visitor. All the flashy graphics in the world pale in comparison to answering someone’s question, helping them with a project of their own, or simply giving them a personal vision of your brand.

In this case, my brand is me. And I craft a brand message with some care. I’m shooting to give people the impression of what I hope my books feel like—compelling, intense, with both high stakes and complicated moral issues. I’m also trying to let them know that I’m a real person, that when they buy one of my books, they’re inviting me to tell them a tale, and that I don’t take that lightly. And a good part of that comes from accessibility.

So I have a Facebook page, of course. I also have a mailing list, and whenever I send one out—which I do with calculated infrequency—I give something away. I blog. I maintain my own website. Every year, I host a release party for my new book. This year’s is in Chicago, on August 6th from 7 – 10pm at Sheffield’s (3258 N. Sheffield). Come by and let me buy you a beer.

These things make sense for an author. But I think they also make sense for a brand. Want an example? When I turned 18, Gillette mailed me a razor, a Sensor. I’m now 35, and I still shave with it. Convenience? Sure. But also, they reached out to me. They made me feel a personal connection. They tied themselves into my life. And it paid out, for 17 years and counting.

Next week, my last with ADMAVEN—and thanks again for having me!—I’ll talk about how I’ve been using social networking to reach out to fans in a way that’s a little different.

Meanwhile, if you’re in Chicago, come by my release party! I’d love to chat.

Interact With ADMAVEN on Twitter

PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> Chicago Media Marketing & Advertising August Meetup at Saper Law

> Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing

> Tweetsuits Multiply: Suing People For Tweets Going Mainstream

Marcus Sakey: Social Media Marketing in the New World of Publishing

Marcus Sakey was an award-winning copywriter on brands ranging from JCPenney to World Championship Wrestling until he left the business to write novels. His books have been translated into a dozen languages, labeled “nothing short of brilliant” by the Chicago Tribune, and chosen among Esquire Magazine’s Top 5 of the Year. His latest, THE AMATEURS, will be released on August 6th. Marcus approached ADMAVEN to tell his story and detail how he uses social media marketing to go above and beyond traditional publisher driven advertising. I found his story compelling, and I am not receiving compensation for allowing Marcus to guest post. With that being said, Marcus will detail his story in three posts that will appear on ADMAVEN weekly.

First off, I’d like to thank ADMAVEN for having me—it’s an honor and a privilege.

I worked in television, design, and advertising for about ten years, and by the end, I was starting to feel like Milton from Office Space, the character who walks around mumbling, “I…I…I could set the building on fire.”

Not that I didn’t love the work. I did. I loved the energy and the creativity and the people and especially those moments when a good idea became a great campaign. But for years I had been putting off something that tempts most advertising folks. I call them “sock-drawer dreams,” the idea being that most of us have a screenplay or a series of paintings or an album rotting away in our metaphorical sock drawer.

And so finally, my wife and I split a bottle of wine, talked through the options, and decided now was as good a time as any. So the next morning I went in to work intent on quitting my job.

True story: I was laid off before I could get a word in edgewise. Karma has a sense of humor.

But it worked nicely. I took my severance package, rolled up my sleeves, and started work. About 18 months later, I had a two-book deal. I’ve been incredibly fortunate since, landing a four-book deal for my next contract, and seeing my novels optioned for film by Ben Affleck and Tobey Maguire. While there are things I miss about the business, I love my new career.

But as it turned out, I wasn’t switching professions nearly as much as I expected.

There’s a lot of talk these days about how every brand needs to be accessible. In a decade we’ve seen multinational corporations try to get up close and personal; seen websites grow from a curiosity to a necessity; seen newspapers languish while Twitter explodes. And while nobody has every detail worked out, one thing that is stunningly clear is that a new way of thinking is required. Nobody can hide in their garret these days. Not even authors.

My “products” are my novels. They’re the most important part of the equation, and nothing can replace that. Whether you’re selling paperbacks or Pampers or politicians, the best place to start is with a good product.

But a good product still needs to be sold. Which means there’s a brand to build. Next week I’ll talk a little about the ways I’ve built, and continue to build, my own. From signings to blogging to social networking to Twitter contests, while you can take the guy out of advertising, you can’t take—well, you know the rest.

Read ADMAVEN next week for the second of three posts in Marcus Sakey's series on social media from an author's perspective.

Interact With ADMAVEN on Twitter

PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> Tweetsuits Multiply: Suing People For Tweets Going Mainstream

> Twitter 101: A Special Guide

> Social Media Helps Skincare Upstart Take on Big Beauty

Chicago Media Marketing & Advertising July Meetup at Saper Law and ADMAVEN 1 Year Anniversary

Before I explain the details of our next meetup, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that today represents the one year anniversary of ADMAVEN - The Interactive Advertising Blog. My first post dated July 9, 2008 promised to, "highlight new technologies, research, and industry practices that have a practical impact on the traditional and interactive Advertising world". I hope you have found this blog informative and useful in your professional life. I have taken great pleasure in delivering information on social media and social media marketing as they begin to take prominence. Thanks to all the loyal readers who have left comments, sent emails, and tweeted about my blog!

And now on to the CMM&A details:

Join the CMM&A organizers and members July 14th, 2009 for an evening of networking and discussion within the media, marketing, advertising, and public relations industries. Our last event was, as always, informative and a lot of fun - don't miss out. Food and beverages will be provided, but you may bring your own beverages of choice (BYOB!).

Be sure to visit the Meetup.com page to RSVP and get complete details.

Our speaker is Kris Pasquini and her topic will address the tools and techniques used in putting a strong personal touch in your client and network communications by going off-line.

The event is sponsored by the "Search Guys" Be Found Online and once again the offices of Saper Law will host us. Saper's facilities feature a stunning rooftop deck on the 12th floor of 500 North Dearborn.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Please note you will need to be let in the front door from the street level - we will be waiting to let you in, and if no one is around just buzz up or wait a few seconds and we will find you!

We ask $3.00 at the door to help with expenses.

July 14, 2009
6:30PM to 9:00PM
Saper Law Offices, LLC
500 N Dearborn, Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60610

Interact With ADMAVEN on Twitter

PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE ALSO READ:

> The Printed Blog Shutters Operations With Some Regrets, No Plans For Future Revival

> Personal Branding Wars: Does Your Company Already Claim a Stake in Your Personal Twitter, Facebook, or Blog?

> Crispin Porter + Bogusky Showcases Beta Social Homepage