Third Party Tools To Help Manage Your Google+ Page

Last week, we announced Google+ Pages, which provide a new way for businesses, brands, products, organizations and other entities to build a public identity on Google+. We’re encouraged by the number of pages that have been created and brands’ enthusiasm for building better relationships with their customers on Google+.

Businesses can create and manage their pages directly through Google+. We are committed to working on enhancements and innovative features to offer businesses more flexibility and power to run their pages. We also recognize that some businesses use social media management companies to manage their presence across multiple social networks. So today we’re announcing that Google+ is enabling six companies to test Google+ functionality in their management tools -- Buddy Media, Context Optional, Hearsay Social, HootSuite, Involver, and Vitrue.



These companies will offer a subset of their clients the ability to manage circles, publish to Google+, and monitor usage. To learn more about their services and pricing, check out this page.

We are currently working with these companies so that we can experiment and get feedback. They were selected based on their extensive experience helping brands and businesses manage and analyze their presence on social networks. If you’re a social media management company interested in working with Google+, get in touch with us.

Follow the conversation on Google+.

Posted by Sara McKinley, Product Manager, Google+ Pages

This Week: Google+ Webinar and Help Desk Hangouts!

As you may already know, last Monday we announced Google+ Pages for businesses, a collection of tools and products to help clients get closer to customers. Over the next two days we’re offering two awesome opportunities for you to learn more about getting your business on Google+:

Tomorrow: Learn with Google Webinar: Getting Your Business on Google+
Wednesday November 16, 2pm ET. Register here.
Join our live webinar hosted by Google+ experts to learn more about how you can bring your company and customers closer together using Google+. Key topics that'll be covered include:

• Setting up a Google+ Page for your business
• Best practices and early use cases for using Google+
• Promoting your Google+ Page
• Improving the performance of your ads with +1 annotations

Thursday: Help Desk Hangouts
Thursday November 17, 12pm - 3pm ET. Visit our Google+ Your Business page.
Still have questions? Talk face-to-face with a Google+ expert using our group video chat product, Hangouts. Learn technical tips, content strategies, and potential use cases for your business.

Check out how Zen Bikes uses Google Plus in this awesome video!

Posted by David Weisman, The Google+ Team

Dialogue: Uniqueness of Marketing to Latinos in the US

I would like to have this post be a dialogue to build knowledge on what is unique about marketing to US Hispanics.

Please post comments in response to the following question:

In your opinion, what are unique factors about marketing to Latinos in the US?

You can now see mobile ad performance in Google Analytics.

Starting this week, some of you will see enhanced Analytics reports with mobile ad performance metrics. All AdWords reports in the new interface will be gaining a new visual toggle as shown below for “All”, “High-end Mobile” and “Tablet” ads.  All AdWords metrics available in Google Analytics can be segmented by these new mobile and tablet dimensions.

 

As more consumers begin to make use of tablets or high-end mobile devices, businesses need to understand this shift towards mobile and adapt your marketing mix. This mobile ads reporting enhancement in Google Analytics is one of many steps that we are taking towards helping you make more sense of how mobile advertising interacts with your business.

Please let us know what you think, and suggest any other mobile measurement options you’d like to see that help make sense of your mobile advertising effectiveness.

- Phil Mui, Google Analytics team

Think Insights with Google is out of beta and packing a data punch

Quick pop quiz:

1. Based on search history, in what month does consumer demand for pretzels peak?

2. Search adds how much (in $) to the world’s GDP?

3. In 2011, what percent of people dreamed and brainstormed about their next vacation?

4. What percent of the daily queries on Google.com have never been seen before?

These are just a few of the questions that can be answered on the new Think Insights with Google, our information and resource hub for marketers. The site is fresh out of beta and sports a playful new look, helpful tools, more studies, the latest trends and exciting videos. We invite you to visit the site, take a look around and see what’s new.

If you only have a few minutes to spare, try playing with our new Real Time Insights Finder tool. With just a few clicks you can spot emerging trends and gain valuable consumer insights, all in real time. For example, the most popular video in common among males 25-34 in Italy and the U.S. is the Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game trailer.

To stay informed on updates to the site, add our Think with Google page on G+ to one of your circles or subscribe to our newsletter.

Use Think Insights as a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research that is forward-thinking and rooted in data. We look forward to hearing your feedback and working to make your Think Insights experience as useful as possible.

Posted by Laura McClung, Ads Marketing

Ain't technology great?...

A little video that I think shows great outside of the box thinking. Just goes to show that expanding capabilities and increasing customer base just takes some creative thinking. QR codes and shaping the future...



Until next time,
Jeremy

Banks Must Develop Apps for Tablet Banking

According to Javelin Strategy and Research's just released third annual report, '2011 Mobile Banking Financial Institution Scorecard - Money Begins to Move on Mobile', tablets are the next wave of technology that will have a major impact on mobile banking. Similar to the smartphone, consumer adoption of the tablet is increasing rapidly and financial institutions will need to quickly accommodate this platform with a user experience that is unique and different from any other platform.

"The tablet is going to be a game changer.", according to Mary Monahan, executive vice president and research director at Javelin who oversaw the development of the new research. "Eight percent are already on a tablet, which is a huge amount when you consider how long the tablet has been out. . . . We think, with the mobile tablet, we will see much more mobile banking. " Link to Bank Info Security interview with Mary Monahan, Tablet: A 'Game Changer for Mobile Banking.

Of the top 25 banks reviewed in the study, 23 offered at least one form of mobile banking services (92%) compared to only 63% in June of last year and 48% in July 2009. In addition, 65% of the banks offered 'triple play' support (SMS text banking, mobile browser and downloadable apps). This was the first time more than half of the top banks supported all types of mobile phones for consumers to access their accounts whenever, wherever and however they wanted.

Financial Institution Mobile Banking Offerings, Javelin Research 2011

Compared to the growth in development of mobile banking applications, the support of downloadable apps for tablets is much slower. According to Javelin, only 30% (7) of the FIs surveyed provided a downloadable tablet app for the iPad, with Bank of America having a 60% market share. No bank currently offers a downloadable app for the Android or any other type of tablet. "FIs need to step up and provide mobile banking services specifically designed for tablets, because that’s where mobile banking is heading.”, said Monahan in an interview. 

The experience definitely needs to be enhanced on the tablet since the consumer will spend more dedicated time on the device at a sitting and expects the interactive capabilities of the device to be fully utilized. Being something of a cross between a computer and a smartphone, tablets benefit greatly from applications being written specifically for them so users can easily move through touchscreen menus. "It's an entirely new kind of device, and needs a new type of user experience to go with it," says Carl Tskahara, vice president of Clairmail. "It can't be smartphone banking, only bigger. And it can't be a shrunken version of online banking.".

One of the main differences between tablets and smartphones when it comes to banking is the time users have (and spend) with the device. Tablet banking is usually done at home where there are fewer user distractions and where a richer visual experience is expected. While banks develop native apps for the tablet, they also will need to make the transition between devices seamless. Citibank, for instance, just relaunched their homepage and online banking application, making the PC experience similar to an iPad application (see video here)

From a perspective of growth potential, 8% of mobile consumers own a tablet (it has only been 18 months since the iPad was released in April 2010). Since the introduction of the iPad, many new tablets have entered the marketplace including Android-based and Windows supported tablets that compete directly with the iPad as well as more moderately priced options such as the Nook Tablet (Wi-Fi and 3G) and soon to be released Kindle Fire (Wi-Fi). These developments are important to watch since Javelin indicates that 51% of current tablet owners have conducted banking on their tablet in the past year, with 34% doing so in the past 7 days.

Brand new research from eMarketer indicates that one in three online consumers will be using a tablet by 2014, representing 90 millions users or 35.6% of all internet users. In addition, the research indicates that iPad growth will continue. And while the share of market will decrease (to 68%), the number of users will double by 2014. Finally, the research indicates that the disparity between male and female users will decrease and that the average age of a tablet user will decrease (due to lower costs).

This holiday season could mark the tipping point for tablet ownership, with Retrevo Research indicating that as many as 69% of consumers are considering the purchase of a tablet. Potentially more interesting, the research finds that 44% would consider buying the smaller Kindle Fire, while 12% say they would not consider anything other than an iPad. This could threaten the tablet ownership dominance enjoyed by Apple and could indicate that tablet ownership is reaching the mass market consumer. 

It was also found that the presence of dual tablet families is increasing, with 20% of current iPad owners indicating they would buy another iPad and 27% saying they may buy a Kindle Fire. The question remains if owners of either the Kindle Fire or Nook will conduct banking on their devices or whether they view them as only e-readers, browsers or game units or if the less expensive units will be for children. 

The demographics of the Fire owner are likely to be different from those of the Apple iPad or other Android tablets, says Monahan. For instance, the age of e-reader owners skews older than that of the more robust tablets, with about 14% being 65 and older compared to 10% who are between 18 and 24 years old. "One of the problems banks will have with this group is that many in the older demographic are content with doing paper banking and are not even online." Monahan says. But as the capabilities and quality of experience of the higher end e-readers continues to increase, the potential to convert this base to mobile/tablet banking increases. 

Intuit Financial Services research found that consumers tend to interact with their financial institution 45% more often if they use a combination of both mobile and online tools. These customer also tended to have larger relationships and a better retention rate. "While we anticipate that there will be some mobile-only consumers, most people will be using multiple devices on any given day in the future," said Intuit spokesperson Tobin Lee in a recent interview. "Financial institutions must be prepared to deliver financial information and insights across multiple devices (PC, phone, tablet), optimized to the merits of each device it they are going to meet customer's needs. If they don't, someone else will . . . probably displacing a bank's relationship."

The desire for 'anywhere app access' was also discussed in one of my previous blogs and just released study from Oracle entitled, Opportunity Calling: The Future of Mobile Communications - Part Two which found that while there was a stronger preference to use a tablet for mobile banking (34%) compared to a mobile phone (11%), the majority of consumers (55%) would prefer to use both devices. This same study found that almost 30% of the U.S. mobile customers that do not already have a tablet device plan to purchase one in the next 12 months.

Obviously, providing a point-and-click online banking experience on a PC is no longer enough. Natural user interfaces need to be developed for newer devices with unique capabilities. Just like the rapid development of apps for phones has occurred over the past two years, banks need to move quickly as consumers seek out slicker and more transformational options on their tablets. While porting an online banking experience on to a tablet may work in the short-run, we need to adjust to a consumer base that lives with touch-based interfaces.

Is your organization building unique user interfaces for tablet banking? Is anyone building a new app for Android supported devices? Is there a market for a tablet banking application for use on the Kindle or Nook?

I would love to hear from you.