Digital Marketing and iPhone 4



The week of June 13 2009 saw the introduction of official pre-orders for Apple’s newest device, the iPhone 4. Within minutes of going live, Apple’s iPhone store was brought to its knees by the millions of users scrambling to secure their new iPhone. This incredible demand seems to cement smartphones as the current must have piece of technical hardware, as many users feel the iPhone 4 finally justifies them making a leap into the smartphone space. New features such as a LED flash, a front facing camera, FaceTime technology - which finally allows for easy face to face video phone calls - a 3 axis gyro for more precision tilting and the long awaited introduction of multi-tasking promise new functionality and the ability for even more advanced applications. In addition, the new iPhone holds a battery that promises 40% longer life, allowing users to stay connected and remain in touch with their networks and friends. In this article we will examine a few ways in which Internet Marketing experts can leverage the capabilities of Apple’s iPhone 4 to reach and communicate with their audiences.

 

FaceTime – One of the surprises of Apple’s iPhone 4 announcement was the reveal of FaceTime. This software utilizes the new front facing camera to allow for out of the box video phone calls among any iPhone 4 users. However, this new FaceTime technology not only offers users the ability to finally conduct video calls, it also offers some interesting opportunities for marketers.

 

Let’s say an iPhone user has downloaded a free, ad supported application for listening to music online. As they are listening to some music one day, they see an ad come up on their screen showing a new pair of wireless headphones made specifically for their iPhone. The ad shows images of the headphones and touts their quality, but also invites the user to click the ad for a live demo. Intrigued, the user clicks the ad and is immediately connected with a customer service representative. The rep is able to show off the headphones, explain the details of how they work, the quality of sound they deliver and elaborate on the procedure for setting them up. If the user has any specific questions, they can be answered at that time, and the service rep can even make the sale at that point if the user is sufficiently impressed with the product.

 

 

This type of immediate interactive communication with a brand can extend into any product type or service imaginable. The only limitation is the imagination of the marketer and the resources of the company. However, when possible to implement, this sort of customer experience is certainly going to be a major component of the future of mobile and Online Marketing.

 

Domenic Carlson writes on behalf of inSegment, Boston’s leader in Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and the home of Online Marketing.

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