Tag Archive for: Newport Interactive Marketers

Newport Interactive Marketers Goes Mobile With Annette Tonti

MoFuse: Powering Mobile Websites 
 

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly 

As a tourism Mecca, easily reached from Boston and New York metropolitan areas, Newport businesses need to be in the know about mobile. Nearly half of all local searches on a mobile phone result in in-store visits, according to a March 2011 study.

Newport attracts thousands of visitors. What do at least 40% those visitors have in common?

1. Disposable income
2. A smartphone … iPhone, Android, Blackberry
They’re looking for places to eat and things to do and buy. Where are they getting that information? There’s a repository of locations, phone numbers, hours — right in their pockets.

BUT only if your website can be found, this is particularly true for hours. (Yelp, Google Places, etc seem to be not as up-to-date.)

It’s imperative to be there when people want YOU.

Thus, the first Newport Interactive Marketers of 2012 gave attendees an in-depth look at
• What’s happening
• What to do about it with limited time and resources
• How to maximize ROI as a result

Rhode Island-based MoFuse powers mobile websites for a wide variety of customers such as the US State Department, Pandora, Ghiradelli chocolate and numerous local businesses. Similar to WordPress, MoFuse offers a platform for businesses large and small to ensure they’re websites work via mobile phones.

MoFuse CEO Annette Tonti was named one Mobile Marketer’s “Mobile Women to Watch for 2011,” and she received the Governor’s IT Achievement Award for Rhode Island.

Annette shared her insights with the 40+ Newport Interactive Marketers attendees who gathered at 41 North.

What does MoFuse do?

• Optimizes for thousands of mobile browsers and handsets
• Customers have the option to either use the platform or let MoFuse develop the mobile site
• Can be used to ensure that world languages and character sets will work
• Ensures your site will work on 5,200 mobile devices, iPhone and Android being the major ones.

Mobile Sites Vs. Apps

• Mobile sites are more cost- efficient
• Apps take a lot of upkeep & require different versions for each device type
• Mobile sites are easier to maintain
• Apps are device-specific & harder to find in iTunes or Android Marketplace for example

Lessons Learned

• Context is everything: When searching with your phone, you want it now.
• Mobile is primarily used to create content: Uploading photos, posting to Facebook
• Mobile sites can be SEO optimized: Ensure you’re found in search engines like Google
• Can be a low-cost way for businesses to launch websites or campaign-specific landing pages.

Don’t miss Newport Interactive Marketers’ upcoming events!

Newport Interactive Marketers team up with University of Rhode Island for inaugural Social Media Social

Newport Interactive Marketers members will join the University of Rhode Island’s student-led Public Relations Society for URI’s first Social Media Social on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. on the Kingston campus. For more information or to register, visit http://bit.ly/NIMatURI11.

The public is invited to gain insights from social media pros, students and to network with web and social media professionals, business owners, and members of Newport Interactive Marketers, the region’s premiere resource for social media and Web 2.0 networking and learning.

The Social Media Social will feature Newport Interactive Marketers:

Kevin Vine, Dunkin’ Brands Interactive Marketing Manager,
Shawn Simmons, Director Public Relations at StyleWeek Providence and
NIM Founder Suzanne McDonald, Chief Content and Social Strategist at Designated Editor.

Other featured guests include:

As a Social Media Strategist and professor of Social Media Strategies at URI, Newport Interactive Marketers founder Suzanne McDonald will discuss how social media interns can benefit businesses and organizations as well as what interns should know to be prepared for the workplace.

McDonald will also discuss social media in the context of:

  • What can an intern do?
  • How is social media part of every career?
  • How can social networking boost business?

Newport Interactive Marketers members attending:

Paula Keogh, Pixels & Pulp
Sherwoode Grosvenor Sherwoode Grosvenor Enterprises
Terry T. Grosvenor R&T Grosvenor Publishing
Rick Grosvenor, Prudential Prime Properties
Jennifer ONeil, Embrace Home Loans
John Mulroy, Energy Marketing Consulting Group
Bill Flanagan, Alteryx
Paula Sheldrick, Virtual DBS
Jon Guinn, NetNoticed
Austin White, Embrace Home Loans
Lynne Donahue, Seaside Consulting Inc
David Englund, Englund Studio / MobileVerb
Hal Landen Video University
Karlie Girouard, It’s Right:RI Matchmaker
Jon Cyr, Cloudy IT
Matt Medeiros, Slocum Studio
JoAnn Lefebvre, Shift 2 Inbound Marketinghttp://shift2inbound.com/
Racheal Renfree, The Inner Office, Inc
Katherine Gagliano
Mark Bush, Forty7Ronin
Julie Woodside, Designated Editor
Scott Indermaur, Indermaur Photography, Inc.
Dana Duellman, Indermaur Photography, Inc.
Captain Mike Brady, Employment Opportunity Expo
Jamie Palmer

The “Social Media Social” will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom, 50 Lower College Road, Kingston, R.I. 02881, and will offer free ice cream for all. Sponsored by the University of Rhode Island Harrington School of Communication and Media and the Communications Studies Department, this event is free and open to the public.