SMS Horrors

Coca-Cola Co. is being sued for allegedly sending unsolicited spam text messages to thousands of individuals without prior consent, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The class action complaint cites one example wherein a consumer allegedly received a text message with a scoreboard update from a football game between the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University (LSU) informing him to vote for one of the teams.  After the consumer placed his vote, he received an additional unsolicited text message with a Coke Zero ad.
According to the complaint, Coca-Cola used marketing firm Mozes Inc., to send unsolicited advertisements for its products, thus violating the TCPA.  The TCPA forbids companies from reaching out to people on their phones using a mechanical dialing system or prerecorded message without their prior permission.
Here at Adva Mobile, we are insanely protective of you're fan's privacy and, when a fan texts in to your band name keyword (by texting GETLyasia to 88704, for example), the only text that can be sent to that fan is from Lyasia. 
Text services from Adva Mobile are a powerful tool for you to use to reach and engage your fans. It's a very regulated world to play in, and the Adva Mobile service has undergone strict review to be approved by the wireless carriers. This story is a good example of what happens when it all goes wrong.
 Sending SMS from the Adva Mobile service is set up to comply with all these carrier rules. And your fan info is secure - and only available to you. We've got your back.

12 on 12-12-12

You only get the opportunity to post a blog like this once every 100 years, so here are Twelve Great Things about mobile technology and mobile marketing happening on Adva Mobile.

1. The New Portal is almost ready to launch
We're weeks away from launching the most powerful mobile technology and marketing service available.
2. Twelve New Artists on the AM Platform
Jeff Bujak, Traumavic, JaLonBlacc, Bluemarch, Jimmie Van Zant, The Heritage, Niloy Phukan,  ROCKET McFLYY, The Deadly Strawberry,  Calypso Toad,  Terror Alert Elevated, The Suspense
3. Digital Content for Sale
The new platform will let you upload your music / videos, set your own price, and sell to your fans right on their phones
4. Hybrid Apps
By wrapping your mobile web site in our iPhone and Android App wrappers, you can manage your mobile assets across all platforms through one CRM  
5. More Detailed Fan Info
The new platform provides even more info about your fans so you can target your superfans with special offers.
6. Sneak Preview of the Portal
You can check out what's coming right now http://prezi.com/tduzbii7rd43/sneak-peek-the-new-adva-mobile-portal/
7. Contests & Voting 
The new portal helps you engage your fans with contests on their phones where they can win things, and a voting game where they can vote for their favorite  ... (whatever!)
8. Adva Mobile Homepage Contest
Here's a game - go to the Sneak Preview and the last "slide" is the new home page. Tell us who the artists are by sending an email to info@advamobile.com and you'll win a prize. (We'll figure something out.)
9. Cool New Mobile Web Designs
When the new portal launches, you'll have two new very cool designs for you to choose from (and more on the way!). 
10. Your Own Mobile Store
Digital, physical, bundles  .... sell direct to fan on your own mobile store - and keep the list price $$.
11. More fans in 2013
Here's to more fans, loyal fans, and more money for you in 2013 with the help from the Adva Mobile platform.
12. Tom Brady - #12
Coincidence? I don't think so!

HAVE A GREAT 12-12-12 EVERYONE!!

How well do you know your fans?

Oftentimes you'll hear people say that the purpose of business is to make money, but that's not true. Making money is the result of a business, and it's essential to keep a business going. But it's not the purpose of business. The purpose of a business is to attract and retain customers. For musicians in the business of making money, your business purpose is to attract and retain fans.

Not all fans are equal, however. You need fans that will buy your music and merchandise, and pay to come to your shows. Your "Superfans", or "1,000 True Fans", whatever. What's difficult, besides making great music and just getting fans, is knowing exactly who these fans are so you can personally reach out to them.

I propose that mobile technology provides a solution to this problem better than any other marketing tool available to musicians.

Check out this screen capture:

(We blocked out the email addresses and names because, hey, it's a real list!!)

This is a fan database from an artist on the Adva Mobile platform. It provides their phone number (for reaching them via our SMS Text Service), and their email address  (for sending them email marketing, either through our service or your own email service like Constant Contact, Mail chimp, or Fan Bridge), details about their age, gender and location. Also, the number of page views of your mobile site / App for that fan. It's incredibly useful to know that two fans on this page (circled in RED) have visited you mobile site pages 204 and 106 times since they joined your site. Those fans are checking you out all the time!!

Mobile can provide so much more, however. Here's another screen capture from our soon to be released new portal, showing enhanced fan data (again, real info, so the name is blocked).

With this information, you can learn more about your fans, how they engage you on mobile phones, and what they are interested in. You can target them precisely - even individually - and you can expect great results from your efforts to market and sell to them.

Mobile is a new world of fan engagement and the ability to data mine fan information and behavior on your mobile site and App will improve your ability to make money with your music.

Postscript:

From Jonathan Ostrow and Music Think Tank

Back in November 2010, Jonathan Ostrow  wrote a blog titled "How well do you know your fans?". It was picked up and re-published by Music Think Tank - you can read it again here. It's a decent attempt to categorize fan types to help Artists spend time cultivating fans that really matter. I remembered this article when I was writing the article above, about what Adva Mobile was doing to help Artists figure out who their best fans were.  Enjoy!

Successfully Growing Your Mobile Fan Base

Take a look at these two charts. They are fan growth statistics from the same Artist, successfully growing their mobile fan base by promoting their mobile site and Apps at shows, on posters and their social media. The charts tell a very instructive story about the effort needed to steadily grow your fan base.

This chart was captured last year around the end of September 2011. The Artist joined Adva Mobile in March 2011 and we spent time creating and organizing the mobile site, building the Apps, and preparing for the launch. When the mobile site was announced in June, there was an immediate rush of fans who joined their site, and a steady growth of fan signing up throughout the year. This chart shows they had about 350 mobile fans after about four months of promotion.

This is a capture of the fan growth chart for the same Artist about two weeks ago. It's very instructive about growing your fan base. This Artist, through a combination of not touring and not promoting their mobile site and Apps, saw fan growth stagnate for the first half on 2012, and then dramatically grow to over 1800 fans once they started telling fans to connect with them on mobile phones.

Growing your fan base takes a consistent effort -it's not hard, but you have to do it every time you're in front of an audience, and regularly post that fans can connect with you on their mobile phones. This Artist has a fan base that is energized about them and regularly engage them on mobile, and can market to these special fans with show tickets, merchandise and music.

HTML5 Frameworks and Hybrid Applications

The one and only solution to develop a native App that runs on different platforms is to develop a separate native application for each different platform, with proper interface, and a specialist developer with skills for the operating system and coding language. Contrast that development environment with an HTML web application that can be read by any phone that includes a web browser.

However, there are some applications that need both:

The ability to be used on any OS- Android, IOS, Windows, Blackberry, etc.
The ability to access Smartphone or Tablet native features, such as microphone, camera, calendar, contact list, accurate geo-location, etc.

In these circumstances, it's possible to use an intermediate solution - hybrid applications.

A hybrid application is based upon the same technologies as web applications - the code is built using standard HTML, CSS and Java Script. Thus, it has the same performance and qualities as web applications.

The code is then incorporated into "frameworks" that allow access to native features of the operating system.

Therefore, like a native application, a hybrid application can access all the hardware devices (camera, microphone, GPS, etc.) and be listed on the corresponding Store. Moreover, a hybrid application takes advantage of its HTML code - easy to update, develop, there's greater design responsiveness, and has long term stability regarding the language used.

There's an argument to be made about whether a musicians app needs to access any of the capabilities of a native OS. The web apps and hybrid apps developed by Adva Mobile in our upcoming HTML5 releases include an HTML5 music player, so even the music player of the smartphone isn't needed. This design choice gives us the flexibility to access native OS capabilities as new requirements for Artist - Fan engagement arise, but for now, we're hard pressed to find a feature on a smartphone that's needed by an Artist to acquire, engage and monetize your fan base.

Thoughts?

Content That's Worth Paying For

I found this terrific INFOGRAPHIC that explains a shift in our buying behaviors.  For the preceding decade, content has been available for free online, both legally and illegally. But people are now buying content because technology is making content more convenient, attractive, relevant and emotional. From iTunes to Amazon, from Netflix to the New York Times.


The infographic is really an advertisement for an upcoming trade show / industry event put on by Business Insider. It's relevant to Adva Mobile Artists because monetizing your mobile fan base has always been the cornerstone of the mobile marketing platform we offer. Here's what the infographic says about content purchases, and how it relates to your Adva Mobile marketing platform:

1. Paying for Content is more convenient: We'll pay for flexibility across devices. We've learned to make micropayments, and pay from our phones. The Adva Mobile Storefront makes it easy for fans to purchase your digital content and physical goods right on their phones. 

2. It's Attractive: the visual web is here, so we can see what we're buying online. Freemium models have taught us to accept higher quality when we pay. The Adva Mobile Storefront lets you distinguish between content you want to give away and content you want to sell, and images associated with the product are presented on your store.

3. Your Content is more Relevant: Your data is everywhere. But options for your fans are scarcer as the big content providers scale back their free services. That gives Adva Mobile Artists more power to engage fans with free and paid for content and products, tailoring bundles to drive revenues. 

4.   We're buying on Emotion: With so much information, and the deluge of choices, we choose purchased based upon how they make us feel. Your Mobile connection to your fans is personal to them and their phones are always with them.

Although mobile purchases are billions of dollars today, we're just at the beginning of a revolution that will see more purchases being made using your mobile phones. Adva Mobile Artists can take advantage of this trend -whether through linking to iTunes and Amazon or using your Adva Mobile Direct to Fan Storefront. Every Artist should have items for sale on their mobile site and Apps.

You can see the infographic in more detail at  http://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-content-40-and-ignition-2012-8#ixzz24ORjyS3c

Nuggets from the "Meeker" Report

We've been followers of the Mary Meeker Report for a number of years now. Mary used to do this report when she was at Morgan Stanley and is now at Kleiner Perkins. Think of it as a State of the Union address, but for the Web.

The report, co-authored by Kleiner digital team member Liang Wu, is an in-depth exploration of the global population online: what they’re doing, where they’re going and how they’re consuming the bits and bytes of the Web. This year’s version was released at the D10 conference in May.

It's 112 slides, but you can go through it fast, especially the interesting middle section on re-imagination.
http://kpcb.com/insights/2012-internet-trends

Some of our favorite nuggets:


Mobile use is exploding, and it can be leveraged for revenue.

Who’s online: According to Meeker’s presentation, there are 2.3 billion global Internet users in 2011 — an 8 percent year-over-year growth rate since 2008, largely driven by emerging markets. Meanwhile, there are 1.1 billion global mobile 3G subscribers. Of the top 10 countries addding users to the Web over the 2008-2011 period, China ranks first and India second — with the U.S. coming in 8th. However, the U.S. comes in second in terms of total Internet users in 2011.

Apple: In terms of mobile device sales in the Apple universe, the iPad left its “siblings in [the] dust,” according to the report, with sales growing at three times the pace of the iPhone and all but obliterating iPod sales — the device that started the iRevolution in Apple’s mp3/mobile product universe.

We're noting this also at Adva Mobile, and our soon to be released next version will deliver HTML5 mobile sites to render correctly on iPads.

Android: The report finds that global shipments of phones on the Android platform have grown four times faster than iPhone over the past 13 quarters. But mobile phones still dominate smartphones, with 6.1 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world, relative to 953 million smartphone subscriptions.

This is why we're bigger proponents of Mobile Web than Apps - you need both, but there are 6 times as many people who can engage you if you have mobile web compared to just an App.

The tablet market grows: In the U.S. tablet ownership is on the rise, with 29 percent of U.S. adults owning a tablet — up from 2 percent less than three years ago.

Mobile, mobile, mobile...: The good news in the report? It’s all about mobile, which accounts for 10 percent of Internet traffic. (In December of 2009, mobile accounted for only one percent of Web traffic.) And with this growth comes cash, with mobile monetization “growing rapidly.”  And when it comes to getting the biggest bang for your advertising buck, the Web — particularly mobile — is where advertisers should turn. Where not to go? Print (of course).

Lot's more nuggets in the report, including the re-imagination section. And thanks to the fine article by Emi Kolawole in the Washington Post for organizing a summary of the key points.

Living the Mobile App - Mobile Web Debate

Nary a week goes by when those of us in the mobile marketing space are not confronted with the continuing Mobile Web vs Mobile App debate. Even if it's overdone, the conversation is healthy. The latest, and directly applicable to musicians, is included in a new Podcast service from called The Upward Spiral Podcast, promoted by Hypebot. You can check it out out here.

It's worth a listen to, if only to get a sense of what the issues are. They make a number of confusing points, like "Artists should make their own HTML5 mobile web sites if they's already making web sites" (are Artists really interested in making web sites?) and a statement that musicians are behind the curve compared to businesses when adopting mobile web (go to any business url on your phone and, just like musician sites, 99% it's not mobile optimized). But they make very good points about millennials experiencing the digital universe on mobile devices, the "market your brand vs. sell your fans" discussion, and promoting your mobile presence from the stage.

I recommend the Podcast. It's the first 20 minutes of their 40 minute podcast - easily digestible.

Thinking About HTML5

An Adva Mobile friend was at a conference in London a few weeks ago and he saw a demonstration of HTML5 capabilities. The demonstration showed a website on a desktop pc, and as the demonstration applied different screensizes, from iPad(tablet) to iPhone (mobile), not only did the content render correctly but the content also changed based on the screen size. The webite was running a javascript program that captured the window size of the requesting device and told the back end server what content to send.

 So, this is real cutting edge stuff. It's absolutely the future, so those of you thinking about a single HTML5 website for your desktop/tablet/mobile experiences are right on. The "requirement" to change content, however, speaks to our position here at Adva Mobile that people engaging bands on desktop and mobile are doing different things depending upon the device. You may have read earlier posts from us that label "snackable" content when referring the the fan's mobile experience. Also, it explains why companies that offer a service to "mobilize" your web site are not successful (these companies arbitrarily eliminate content from your main website), and why a single web site for a band that simply adjusts for screen size won't be effective for your audience.

 As part of our portal redesign we're also creating new mobile website templates, and these will be coded in HTML5. What's needed next are "wireframes" that show the layout - on a web page - of the different content your fans want on different devices: desktop, tablet, and mobile. Once that work was done, we'd be comfortable providing you with a complete digital experience for your fans across all devices, that maintained your brand everywhere.

 We'll get right on it.

Crowdfunding - We're on to Something Big for Artists

When Adva Mobile undertook our Crowdfunding exercise, we knew we were testing a new idea. Raising money for a project by convincing a large group of friends, family, business partners and even total strangers to contribute a small amount of money wasn't a totally new idea, however past successful efforts were oriented towards cultural, philanthropic or creative projects. Crowdfunding for a commercial project was indeed testing a new idea.

Now we have the Crowdfunding Bill, part of the Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups, or JOBS Act, through Congress and signed by the President. For those of you who haven’t been following the JOBS Act, it is a bill that will make it easier for startups and small businesses to raise funds, especially through online Crowdfunding.

The Crowdfunding exercise we underwent using IndieGoGo (like KickStarter) differs from those contemplated by the JOBS Act bill because, under the JOBS Act, we can now reward investors with equity. I believe Equity Based Crowdfunding  will fundamentally alter, in positive ways, small businesses, including those small businesses known as "Artists".

Touring Bands and Recording Artists should watch the early efforts of Artists who attempt Equity Based Crowdfunding projects very carefully. While fans may be willing  to donate small contributions for a nationwide tour, SXSW concert, or studio session, the significant money needed for large marketing campaigns, previously only available from large labels, may now be available to a much larger pool of Artists. Crowdfunding without equity through campaigns with KickStarter and IndieGoGo are still available to the Artist, so Equity Based Crowdfunding represents an alternative when more significant capital is needed.

The "crowd" also provides benefits beyond capital to Artist businesses. For example, a touring band that raises money via Crowdfunding may now have 150 new passionate fans as shareholders, who can serve as a great sounding board for new ideas and as brand evangelists -- a critical asset in Artist promotion.

Equity Crowdfunding will go a long way towards alleviating Artists' capital access needs, and benefit investors in the process. The capital markets have finally entered the 21st Century and the future for Artists looks bright.

Design for Our Times - The Adva Mobile Portal

Many of you know we're working on an entirely new User Interface to our mobile marketing CRM Portal for Artists, to make it even easier for Artists to take advantage of everything mobile has to offer. Over the past few months, as we've been building out the system and tying it in to our existing database, we've provided a "sneak peek" at the design and some of the back end pages that will help artists manage their online mobile presence. We're ready to show you even more, as we're preparing to launch our new portal and unleash Adva Mobile to the mobile industry.

We're big fans of Prezi - it's an online presentation tool that a big step up from PowerPoint. Video is great for an overview, but if you want to stop and study the details of what you're looking at, video doesn't cut it. Prezi is great because, like PowerPoints, you can move at your own speed.

We've built a Take The Tour Prezi, it's at http://bit.ly/advatour. Have fun checking it out, and let us know if you have any questions about how to use the service to connect to fans on mobile.

Adva Mobile Artist Natalie Stovall Voted Entertainer of the Year

 We couldn't be more proud to announce that Natalie Stovall has won both Entertainer of the Year and Female Entertainer of the Year by Campus Activities Magazine®. We've seen her perform at campuses up here in Boston and the audiences love the flavor of country she brings to her performances. Campus Activities Magazine® echoed this sentiment when they wrote:
"Well, she's finally done it folks. After just a few short years in the campus market, Natalie Stovall has been named the Entertainer Of The Year by the voters of Campus Activities Magazine® in the Reader's Choice Awards. One of the most common comments about this performer is "I don't even like country, but I like this country. It almost didn't even seem like a country show." Put it this way, when she rips "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," it's in a medley with some Metallica. Her's is a show bred for wide audiences, and this year that mainstream popularity paid off with her winning the big one."

Natalie is a pioneer using mobile technology from Adva Mobile to reach and engage her fans, and hundreds connect with Natalie on their phones - she has iPhone App, Android App and Mobile Web to reach the largest audience. Download her Apps, or text GETFIDDLE to 88704 to check out Natalie on your phone and download some of her terrific music.

You can read a great article about Natalie and why she won the award at:
http://www.campusactivitiesmagazine.com/articles.php?articleID=227&button=Go

Congratulations Natalie! 

New SMS Text Rules from the Phone Companies that affect you

Many of you actively promote your mobile site to your fans on your desktop web sites or Facebook pages. We see callouts to Text GET(bandname) to 88704 all the time. That's great!

When you see this on TV - for example, when you see the instructions to text in to vote on American Idol - you might notice the small print under the text in the call-out. "Data and Message charges may apply" is the most common small print. We've received a notification that this language is now required whenever you put GET(bandname) to 88704 in print.

What happened was, one of the wireless carriers did an audit and found a band promoting their mobile site with their shortcode (88704) and keyword (GETbandname) without this required language. So they wrote to us and told us to fix it.

The carriers are pretty strict about these things. So, until it got fixed, we had to disable this band on our system. Because, if we're not compliant, they can shut down 88704, and that screws everybody.

Here's the new language you need to show if you promote your mobile site in print (on your website, Facebook Page, handouts, posters, etc.)

Text GET(bandname) to 88704 for a Free Download
Terms at http://www.advamobile.com/Terms.aspx
Privacy Policy at http://www.advamobile.com/Privacy.aspx
Max 4msg/mo. Text STOP to 88704 to Stop, Text HELP to 88704 for Help
Message and Data Rates may apply

The part in RED is optional, of course. It can say Text GET(bandname) to 88704 to join our mobile site, or anything else.

The band that got audited chose not to add the language. Instead, they told their fans to scan a QR code to get to their site. (We gave them the code. Get in touch if you want one.) Almost as good as Text - (we get phone numbers automatically for your fan database when they text in. We have to ask fans to enter this info when we use QR codes.) Either way works.

Promoting Your Mobile Web Site

So you have a Mobile Website and maybe an App with Adva Mobile and now you're wondering "What's Next?" Here are some easy steps that will help you get traction to your  mobile site:

1. At the shows - Tell your fans. There are two good opportunities to tell your fans about your mobile site:

• If you've put a song up on your site for fans to download, after you play it, you can Shout Out "Hey, if you like that song, you can get it for free. Take out your phone and text GET(bandname) to 88704."
• When you're telling your fans they can get your music at the merch table, also tell them to stay connected on mobile by texting in. If you have an App, you can tell them to download your App also.

2. On social media sites: Don’t be afraid to use social networks to feature your mobile site in a post or two. Here you are targeting the news of your mobile site to existing followers who have already expressed interest in you, so they will be more inclined to join your mobile site or download your App.

3. On the homepage of your website: If you have a band website, it's one of the first places that interested fans go to learn about you. By telling fans to text in on your homepage, you will be taking advantage of this targeted audience. On Midnight Mirage's website, there's a call to action at the bottom of the pages.

4. In your blog: While the most popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have character limitations, your blog is one place to really talk about all the great features your fans can get on your mobile site and Apps. It’s your chance to present users with a compelling case on why they need to join your mobile site or download your App.

5. On traditional advertising: You hand out download cards and make posters that promote your shows. It makes sense to market your mobile site and App through online channels, but it's also a good idea to market your site on your physical promotions. For example, you could include text like “Text GET(bandname) to 88704 to connect with us on mobile" or "Download a free song when you text GET(bandname) to 88704".

Another idea is to include a QR code or Microsoft Tag that, when scanned, automatically brings the user to your mobile site. Reggae site Vital Vibes uses a Microsoft Tag code on their website home page that brings fans to their mobile site (see below for example).

6. Through Fan Engagement on your mobile site and App: Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools that doesn’t cost anything. One way to do this is by hosting buzz-worthy giveaways or contests on your mobile site. Uploading great content and exclusives on your site is another way.

Mobile is here and you've taken the first steps to connect with your fans on their mobile phones. Next, it’s a good idea to have a marketing plan ready for your new mobile site and App. Follow these quick, inexpensive tips to make your mobile launch an even bigger success.



Hitting on 1,400

I love announcing milestones. We now have over 1,400 Artists using our service as of this week. Amazing since we do so little promotion. When our new portal launches in a few weks, we'll undertake a larger marketing effort. For now, it's all word of mouth from our existing Artists, and people who find us through search.

Some of the recent Artists that have joined are bigger names:

• Ariana Grande created the role of Cat Valentine in the American sitcom Victorious, which is still running on the Nickelodeon channel. Universal just signed her and we'll help her use mobile with her music launch
• Santa Leja is a British Electro-Pop Songstress playing out of Miami. You've probably heard her hit Let The Beat Don't Stop 
• Lauren Light’s style is like a mixture of Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Fiona Apple all stirred together.
• Jon Wolfe, country star from Austin, has a new single out I Don't Dance

Many more, of course, as more and more Artists discover that mobile is the best way for them to connect with their fans.

Texting In is Checking In

Are your fans Checking In? If they are using Foursquare, they are telling their fans where they are. Same with Facebook. So it's all about location. Where they are - physically.

What about mentally? That's where Texting In lives. When your fans Text In to your mobile presence, they are telling you where they are - mentally. They are connecting with you.

Sometimes they'll do that on their own, and sometimes you have to prompt them. With a text blast, for example. Or, run a contest. Tell everyone that the person that has the most page views on your mobile site on a particular day is your "Mayor" of the day. Acknowledge them on your blog and Facebook page. Send them a discount to buy a T-Shirt.

The Adva Mobile reports engine helps make this kind of contest simple:

Use mobile to be innovative and connect with your fans with thse simple fan engagement campaigns.