Okay, so Apple has accepted your iPhone application….now what? How are you going to distinguish your application from the 100k+ applications already in the Apple Store? Let’s face it…it is the goal of every application developer that their app makes it into Apple’s Top 100 but this isn’t going to miraculously happen without taking the necessary steps which I will outline below. Bottom line is this…. You can have the most unique, innovative, life-changing application around, but without the right marketing and promotion your idea is just as good as the worst application in the Apple Store. 

Eight Steps to Giving your Application a Fighting Chance…

1. Create a landing page or website for your application. It is imperative that you have a web presence for your application. Sending out the link to your application in the app store is NOT going to cut it. You need a website which captures the visitor and compels them to download your application on the spot. If the visitor leaves your site with their interest some-what piqued but not convinced, you’ve lost a downloader.  Create an engaging website with a call to action.

2. Send out an Email Blast. As soon as your application is accepted by Apple, your first move should be to your email account. Send out an email blast with details of your application and include a link to your website or if you do not have a website, send a link to your application in the Apple Store. Send this to all of your contacts and ask that they forward the link along to their contacts.

3. Create a Facebook Page. Most people who own iPhones will also have Facebook accounts. Create a Facebook page for your application and invite all your FB contacts to become a fan of the page. Once your friends fan your page, this action will appear in their news feeds, and their friends will be made aware of your fan page and so on.  Facebook is very viral in nature and so take advantage of this great resource.

4. Twitter. In addition to Facebook, Twitter will be a great resource to you in your marketing endeavours. Create a Twitter account for your application. Customize the design so that it stays consistent with your website. This will help in creating brand awareness. Twitter will allow you to “follow” up to 2000 accounts before you are shut-off. Search for people who are likely to be most interested in your application (this will be your target demographic) and follow them. Hopefully, they will “follow” you back and thus become acquainted with your application.

5. Send out a Press Release. A press release will help alert the news media of your application. There are thousands upon thousands of news outlets looking for stories to cover. If you’ve got an application which interests a particular news outlet for one reason or another, chances are they will want to cover your story. HELP THEM, FIND YOU with a press release. You can compose a release yourself and then submit it to any online press release distribution company (who will distribute the release on your behalf) OR you can hire a company with experience in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to write the release for you and submit it on your behalf.

6.  Advertise your application on a Social Media Website. Facebook and MySpace offer two of the BEST do-it-yourself advertising networks. Through these social media websites you can EASILY and I repeat EASILY create an advertisement for your application and advertise towards your target demographic. You can choose who will see your advertisement by age, interests, workplace, relationship status, and much more. You can set up a daily budget for your advertisement and run it for as many or as few days as you would like. Take advantage of Facebook’s 350 million users and MySpace’s 200 million active users.

7. Advertise your Application on other Websites. Search for other websites who target an audience similar to the audience who will be interested in your application. Email the website’s point of contact or webmaster. Inquire about advertising on their site with a small graphic ad or text link. You can either offer to pay for the ad on a monthly basis (don’t be afraid to negotiate or haggle) OR suggest a link exchange. Offer to place a link to their site on your site and in return you will receive a link on their site.

8. Run a Promotion. One of the best ways to attract users is to incentivize them. Set up a promotion and offer your users an incentive to download your application. Perhaps you will send your first 100 downloaders a free t-shirt or small gift card to the itunes store or a free pizza, etc. Promotions can be VERY powerful marketing tools. Get the word out about your promotion through a social media site.

Following the above eight steps should give any application a leg up on the other 100k+ applications which are currently flooding the Apple Store. For more information and advice on how to effectively market your application please contact us at Pearse Street Consulting or email Amy at amy@pearsestreet.com .

Instead of tedious hourly updates about the grindingly dull details of mundane lives, companies across the US as well as job seekers have discovered that social media marketing allows a focused, cost-effective way of bolstering, and in some cases supplanting, traditional print, broadcast and online recruiting.

U.S. Web-based recruiting has grown into a $522 million industry, and it’s predicted to grow at a rate of 8 percent a year, based on 2008 Forrester Research data, reported Cobizmag.com, an online Colorado business magazine.

That includes traditional job Web sites, but it’s harder to quantify the use of purely social networking sites, which typically are free.

 Companies can reach a great deal of people through social networking, and you can also gain a lot more referrals through the use of social media and social media marketing. In addition, the word about the company hiring spreads rapidly, which generates unsolicited inquiries. Instead of incurring the cost of placing an ad through an online site such as Monster, you can use your network or Facebook page to spread the word and help you identify top talent.

Unlike recruiting-specific online resources, such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, most social networking sites are free. They can be set up in minutes and are relatively easy because they’re designed for general, rather than specific, use.

Those looking for jobs are increasingly turning to their social networking in addition to traditional online recruiting sites.

Many individuals feel uncomfortable looking for jobs on online sites as there is little to no way to stand out with a cookie cutter online job search.

While online savvy with social media is helpful, being qualified for the job is still most important as skills and work ethic still matter.    However, in today’s increasingly competitive job hunt, social media outlets may help to get your foot in the door.  What you do with the opportunity is up to you. 

A mass social network such as Facebook is a great way of raising awareness of a brand or idea.  There are millions of users around the globe using Facebook and Twitter religiously, and these mass social media networks allow businesses and individuals alike access to its massive following. This unparalleled access to information can work as a ‘teaser” and attract interested parties towards a separate niche social network.  These niche social networks serve as a much more efficient message platform to communicate and engage with consumers in a more direct fashion.   Social Media Marketers should not be confused by the two types of media and should acknowledge the benefits and limitations of mass social networking sites.  Savvy social media marketers know that both are best used side by side.

With many of the mass social networking sites out there, social media marketing experts tend to have little or no control over what is said about a brand, thus there is a danger of negative content being spread virally. A brand focused social network has the advantage of moderating content, eliminating this risk, but also becoming one dimensional and could lose some credibility. It is the transition and reciprocation between mass and niche networks that will have the biggest impact on a business’s online marketing activities

According to recent studies by Proofpoint, an Internet security firm, of companies with 1,000 or more employees, 17 percent report having issues with employee’s use of social media. Almost 10% of those companies having issues with online use have actually dismissed someone for their behavior on sites like Facebook and MySpace.  This trend is more than double the numbers from 2008, where just 4 percent reported having to fire someone over social media misuse.

These firings occurred in companies not blocking these social media outlets.  It is said that 1 in 3 companies have blocked access to popular social media sites, with that number expected to rise in the coming months as employers look to increase productivity and decrease potential distractions to its employees.

The two factors this writer sees at play are employers closely monitoring social media sites and employees who continue to not use common sense when posting online.  Many individuals do not draw a line in the sand when discussing work and life outside of the office, either by sharing sensitive corporate details, or simply by making foolish remarks about their employer.  Employees, especially those fresh out of college, could avoid any potential problems by creating a more PG-13 and professional version of their Facebook profiles. 

If you choose to maintain only one facebook or other social media account,  please be mindful that anything written behind the corporate firewall could potentially be monitored. This is not meant to create FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) but it is meant to educate worktime users of social media sites.  It is recomended to keep the social media commentary offline, at least unless you’re absolutely sure both your privacy settings and IT setup make sure that whatever you’re saying will only be read by its intended audience.

Tip#1. The KISS (Keep it simple stupid!) Rule.  The main reason a video becomes viral is because it is quick and interesting to watch and can keep the ever shrinking attention spans of its viewers through humor.  Many times, viral videos that have spread like wildfire are random and pointless, yet very memorable.

Tip#2.  Avoid overpromotion. Videos should be aimed at entertainment rather than direct advertisement. Trust in the fact that people will remember your name when they enjoy your video.  Portions of the video could be itched into their mental lobes, which will increase the recall capacity of its viewers.  Even if they do not mean to store this information, they will unintentionally, which is a reason this type of marketing is so effective.

Tip#3.  Make Video Accessible.  Place your video where people can see it. YouTube and Facebook are not the only social networking sites out there. Look at places outside of the big name social networks. If the video is catchy, the more sites the video is on, the more clicks it should receive.

Time spent in development of the most comprehensive video that not only makes a statement that is funny, but captures the attention of the viewer so much they will want to share is imperative.  Moreover, you have to find an effective way to incorporate your advertising into the video. I would recommend placing advertising at the end of the video so as not to affect the flow of the video.  Your name, business, and or idea should be the last thing the viewer sees as he or she sends links to friends and laughs out loud again and again.

Like others, I’ve been pondering the best way to get new business, or stay in business, in today’s plummeting economy. On a recent walk through the North End neighborhood in Boston it came to me as I passed Mike’s Pastry Shop and saw the crowd stretching out the door at 3pm on a Tuesday. No, it was not that I should be selling cannolis, but perhaps I should model business in a similar fashion to Mike’s. Smart marketing in a recession is about building relationships. Most folks are not ready to buy or hire immediately, but everyone is ready to connect and try the free sample. That’s the secret and the power behind social media marketing. Social media continues to be the most powerful and cost-effective way to reach your customers - or a future employer - at for the next 12 to 18 months.

If your advice and recommendations are delicious enough, business owners and users will follow you and subscribe to your content that hits the spot and fills a need within the perceptual map of their business. Ultimately, your customers and at times individuals with which you have minimal contact but make a big impression will hire you or do business with you. Even now, companies can be extremely selective, hiring only the brightest, quickest, and best for short-term gigs or project work. Make yourself irresistible. Create some delicious content.

Back to the cannolis. They come in many different flavors and colors, some are dipped in chocolate, some covered with chocolate chips. They are blog posts, Facebook updates, and Tweets, all sharing a common trait: that all are made to be delicious and irresistible to those individuals (customers and employers alike) walking past Mike’s or browsing your Facebook or Myspace. Taken together, these “cannolis” comprise the digital footprint for users. Create delicious content and give users a reason to come back and recommend you to friends.

Here are some low cost ways of effective non traditional advertising:

1. Research and understand the goals, values, and behaviors of your market and market participants. Once you have a thorough understanding of your market, you will know how to deliver messages effectively.

2. If you decide to hire an agency to manage your advertising, make sure you are the only account they are managing in your market. If the company manages any competitors, look elsewhere.  If not, this could cause competitive problems and the level of service and performance within the market will suffer.

3. Explain what your USP (unique selling proposition) is and why you are better than all the rest of your competition. A USP is the one element that makes your business better than other businesses (superior customer service, late hours, 24 hour customer service, best prices, or highest quality, etc).

4. Find the right online avenues to advertise. There is nothing worse then placing an advertisement in an e-magazine with little or no relevance to your market.

5. Create an irresistible offer. You want to attract prospects and make them contact you immediately. In recessionary environments, offer a discount for first time buyers; offer an introductory period, or a gift that has a high perceived value.  Be careful to promote this offer as “limited time” only as customers could tend to expect lower prices and better deals, even as the economy as a whole improves.

6. Diversify your marketing efforts. Use online advertising, blogging, social media marketing with branding and public relations to get the best results. When working with a low budget, you should determine where your marketing dollars are generating the best Return on Investment (ROI) to prevent careless spending.