But the animated GIF enjoyed a renaissance in the late 2000s, as users tapped into the format’s capabilities for fun and creative expression. Image-driven social sites like Flickr, Tumblr, Reddit and Pinterest have become havens for sharing interesting GIFs. Now the phenomenon has caught the attention of big brands who’ve added GIFs to their sites, emails and social networks. GIFs have definitely come a long way since the days of the Hamster Dance.

Analyzing the Appeal,
Frame by Frame

Animated GIFs can be used to tell stories and capture emotion. They’re simple to create from still images or a few video frames, with the option to add text and logos. GIFs require short load times because of small file sizes, so they’re easily sharable. They can be used to subtly add a hint of animation to mimic the look of video without the investment of shooting custom video.

The possible applications for the format are endless. Marketers love animated GIFs because they can capture consumers’ valuable attention in a scant matter of seconds. Animated GIFs offer interesting ways for audiences to interact with your company’s brand, product or service, and share their experience with others.

Following are a few good examples of how companies have put animated GIFs to work.

To spotlight a new product:

Fashion brand Diesel used a splash of movement to highlight their new products in a recent ad campaign. These images originated as print ads and were repurposed for the web.

American Apparel used an animated GIF to announce new Sheer Nail Laquer on its Tumblr blog with accompanying text about this limited-time-only offering of “vibrant-yet-sheer colors” inspired by and named after beaches in Southern California.

To bring an email invitation to life:

Anthropologie used one large animated GIF on an email to invite viewers to follow them on Pinterest, a unique, eye-catching way.

To capture moments in time:

Animated GIFs are the perfect vehicle to display an entertaining or amazing video clip that people enjoy watching on instant replay, over and over. For example, 2012 Olympic US Women’s soccer goalie Hope Solo’s great save helped the team win Olympic gold.

The same can be said for personal moments among family and friends, as well. Lollapalooza concert-goers visiting the Adidas booth shared instant 3D-style animated gifs of themselves on their social networks.

Always in Motion is the Future

It’s impressive to see how animated GIFs have grown up in such a short time. Who knows, it may progress to the point that the next generation of users will consider moving GIFs to be the default online photo format – for them, still photos on the web might look as old-fashioned as black & white TV. Now if we could only get the Hamster Dance song out of our heads…

Want more examples? Check out the Animated GIF Society on Pinterest.

Within the past 12 months or more, we have seen a dramatic rise in mobile development projects for large, enterprise corporations. Specifically, the need has been for these organizations to arm their sales teams with mobile tools that allow them to better engage and sell to their customers.

This trend is being driven not only by the proliferation of tablet devices, but also by the realization that if built correctly, mobile sales tools can save cost and improve efficiency.

The recent term for this is “mobile sales enablement.” Gartner, a global technology research firm, predicts that sales automation systems for customer collateral, sales presentations and ordering systems will become the #1 commercial business application category for tablet devices.

Watch Gartner’s global head of research discuss the outlook of mobile and what it means for business organizations.

Tablets make excellent selling tools, but simply distributing them to your sales force is not enough. To get the best results from mobile sales tools, you need to make strategic decisions about interactive presentations and optimize the customer experience.

With this in mind, we have prepared a new white paper entitled Mobile Sales Enablement 101. Taking an overview of industry trends and best practices, the white paper covers the following critical topics:

• The benefits of mobile sales enablement
• Questions you need to ask before you get started
• Options in mobile sales app development
• Solutions that Signal developed and delivered in three different sales organization scenarios

We hope you’ll find Mobile Sales Enablement 101 a useful resource for adopting mobile tools to improve sales performance and redefine the selling experience. Download the white paper now!

Native apps are standalone software installed directly onto a smartphone, like the “app store” mobile apps we’re accustomed to. These are developed for a single platform in their native programming language – Objective C (Apple iOS), Java (Android) or C# (Windows Phone).

Web apps, on the other hand, function via web browsers on mobile devices. They are developed using web standards (HTML5, JavaScript, CSS3), which means that one version will work across multiple platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows Mobile, you name it.

Hybrid apps combine features of native apps and web apps in a way that might offer the best of both worlds in some cases. But first let’s take a closer look at the differences between those two primary categories. While the technology can be transparent to users, native apps and web apps each offer unique features and benefits.

Native Apps & Web Apps: Know the Difference

The technology selected is a fundamental choice that will determine how your app is developed and how users interact with it. Selecting the wrong technology can be a costly mistake, resulting in inaccessibility or poor performance.

With advances in smartphone browsers and HTML5, the functional gap between mobile websites and native apps continues to close, and in some instances, it’s possible to develop a similar, feature-rich user experience using either approach. The landscape is changing daily, so it will be vital to keep up with the latest developments to make the best decisions in mobile app strategy going forward.

The good news is that once you’ve defined your business objectives, target audience, and technical requirements, the correct approach between native and web apps is usually an obvious choice. For instance, if you need an app for your sales force to use exclusively on their assigned iPads, then you might want to go for a native app. If your app is going to have a general consumer audience, the wide accessibility of a web app could make more sense.

Corporations with unlimited resources can offer both web app and native app options to ensure their applications offer optimal user experience and accessibility. Of course, not all organizations can afford this luxury. But there is a more economical way to have your cake and eat it too.

This increasingly popular option, as previously mentioned, is the hybrid mobile app. This means that the majority of an app is developed in reusable HTML5 web app technology, but it’s contained within a native app wrapper. This allows the app to utilize native app functionality and distribution and also reduces the development effort when creating versions for additional platforms.

It’s predicted the majority of mobile apps will be web apps in the future – but it’s important to remember there is no clear winner that works best in all cases. Native apps and web apps are just two different solutions. As technology evolves, this topic will continue to be the focus of much discussion and debate in mobile app strategy.

Mobile is no longer optional
Google mobile ads have been around for a while now. The biggest change we’ll see from these new enhancements is that there’s no longer an option for marketers to opt out of running ads on any device. Before enhanced campaigns, if you wanted to show ads on mobile devices, best practices called for setting up a separate campaign. Settings, keywords, ads and bids were all managed separately for optimum control. With enhanced campaigns, marketers have a default bid (for computers/tablets), and then smartphone bids can be a multiplier (positive or negative) of that.

Expect cost per click to go up
Rise in cost per click is inevitable. Because user behavior on tablets has been shown to closely mimic that of desktop users, Google has grouped tablets in with desktops for the default bid. This effectively puts an end to the deals marketers have seen from tablet clicks. Not only that, but making mobile a requirement for all advertisers is really going to increase competition over the next few months.

Opportunities in context
Now from a single campaign, marketers can take advantage of every opportunity that’s important to our business across all devices. Using factors like location, time of day, and the capabilities of the device being used, we are better able to determine context and ultimately show a more relevant ad to that user. We can also utilize powerful bidding improvements to take advantage of these key moments in context and make better use of our budget. For example, you can bid higher for customers who are searching from within a half-mile of your store, or lower during specific hours when your business is closed.

Enhanced campaigns also offer smarter ads that can be optimized based on user context and device capabilities. Headlines, ad texts, site links and ad extensions can be customized to speak to your on-the-go audience. There are several different features for mobile search ads –  all designed to help attract new customers, increase conversions and leads. Which features or formats work best will ultimately depend on your campaign goals. Here are a few examples:

• Text ads with call extensions can include a click-to-call number that enables users to easily call your business directly.
• Text ads with location extensions can be used to provide around-the-block directions and bring customers in the door.
• Text ads with offer extensions can be used to promote special deals for users on smartphones.
• Search app extensions and click to download features can be used to promote your mobile apps.

Along with new ad formats and features come advanced reporting metrics and new conversion types. For example, Google’s call forwarding feature now lets you count qualifying phone calls (say, those lasting more than 60 seconds) as a conversion. While it’s still difficult for some businesses to consider a phone call of whatever sort equal to a true “conversion,” there’s no denying that this is still an important progression.

So What Now?
With no opt-out option, you at least need a mobile strategy at the most basic level. Spend a few minutes searching Google on your phone. Search your brand and some of your top keywords. Are your competitors there? How might your message change to drive a better response from mobile users? Try browsing your site – are you able to easily find important pages and complete conversions? Make a list of what’s not working and talk to your developer about getting these things fixed.

Mobile searches have grown by 400% since 2010. Check your analytics. Regardless of these impending changes to AdWords, your site no doubt is already seeing a growing percentage of mobile visits. If your competitor offers a better mobile experience, why would your customers continue to struggle on your site?

Here’s a great resource from Google if you want to learn more: The Mobile Playbook.

This sinister force has been known in many forms and under various aliases, and it doesn’t only plague those of us who work in the creative arts. Anyone whose profession involves problem-solving and inventiveness has to grapple with this mental adversary, which boils down to an inability to continue a train of thought. Barriers are constructed in our minds, keeping us from moving forward with an idea. Stress and emotions build walls that we are unable to move around. Rather than keeping out the wildlings, these walls are separating you from your next great idea.

Want to break through the wall quickly and recharge your creativity? Here are a few ways to battle your nemesis and achieve heroic victory.

Switch gears. Step away and work on something else. It doesn’t even have to be a creative project, just occupy your mind with something else for the moment. Setting aside a project and coming back with fresh eyes sometimes allows you to see things more clearly. The allowed time you can keep the game on pause is always a factor, but even a short break can help you win.

Learn a new trick. Sometimes we are so stuck in our old habits that we run out of ideas. While writing lyrics for his solo album Binaural, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder suffered from writer’s block. To bring in a new perspective and better focus to song writing, he banned himself from playing the guitar and switched to a ukulele. Try learning a new way of doing something, be it stylistic or in method.

Clear your plate. All of us are constantly juggling various concerns, big and small. Multiple minor projects get in the way of the big project and vice versa. Go ahead and finish the work you know you can easily knock out, which allows you to bring more focus on what is the most creatively demanding. Just remember, it’s much easier to defeat Goldfinger once all his pesky henchmen are out of the way.

Stop Thinking. That’s right, turn your rational brain off. Following the standard rules and regulations is usually required, but strict adherence to the “don’ts” is kryptonite to your creativity. Thinking outside the box starts by breaking a few rules. Don’t worry about staying inside the lines. In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, let go of your conscious self and act on instinct.

Be Batman. If all else fails, reach into your utility belt and pull out a trick you haven’t used in awhile. We all have go-to solutions that we’ve recycled a few times, so don’t be afraid to employ one now and then. Who knows, you may stumble onto something new in the process.

At the point you see your enemy’s lair in the distance – or you are surprised by ninja attack – consult the above list. Over time you will figure out other strategies and will discover what works best for you to beat your creative nemesis. Last of all, good luck – you’re going to need it out there.

As a believer in content marketing, I also know that the presentation itself can be repurposed as content on your website, whether published in the form of a webinar, white paper or blog post. Attracting prospects using valuable content has been an important paradigm shift in the advertising industry.

Even so, I was recently surprised to witness the power of content marketing when a two-year-old presentation of mine went viral on SlideShare, an online community for sharing presentations.

It all started when I read this article on how to generate leads with SlideShare. I pulled up my presentation on Mobile Apps 101, updated the 2010 industry stats with today’s figures, and published it on SlideShare – easy enough. Within the hour, it received over 200 views and was elevated to the “Featured” section on the SlideShare home page. Later, SlideShare also promoted my presentation on its “Hot on Facebook” and “Hot on Twitter” sections. Within the first day, it had been viewed over 1,000 times.

Previously I had made the presentation to several audiences at different conferences, but to a total of less than 100 people. As of today, it’s been seen more than 2,500 times.

So what’s the moral of the story? You’ve done the hard part already by creating the original content. With minimal effort, you can leverage your existing presentations online using SlideShare, and greatly increase your exposure, your thought leadership, and your leads. In addition to the article referenced above, here is a marketer’s guide to SlideShare to give you some tips.

Good luck!

View the presentation:

So the question facing everyone is, which do I choose? Which is better, mobile sites or responsive sites? It’s an extremely complex question, with some experts choosing a favorite and railing against the other side. The way we see it at Signal, neither solution is “best.” The appropriate choice varies depending on the circumstances; it’s essential to understand the fundamental differences between the two approaches.

Responsive Design vs Mobile Sites from Signal

In theory, responsive design is the more elegant and sophisticated choice, and it’s probably the overall direction that the mobile web is evolving toward. But for now, it’s not always practical. Responsive design is not a simple patch that you can tack onto an existing site — it typically requires a complete user interface redesign. So if you’re happy with your current desktop site, or don’t have the budget to redesign it, it probably makes more sense to develop a separate mobile site instead.

Responsive design also requires new ways of thinking on the part of developers, as well as more integrated collaboration between the design teams and technical teams. Each responsive site presents unique challenges to be solved through some measure of trial and error. As a result, responsive sites tend to be more expensive, and “perfect” results on all the possible platforms can be difficult to achieve. These problems will lessen in the future, as the responsive design process matures and best practices develop over time.

This is not to suggest that separate mobile sites are just an inferior alternative of convenience, though. There are cases where mobile sites make more sense than responsive design, regardless of budgetary or logistical factors. Responsive design serves one site to all, but sometimes you might value the opportunity to craft an experience specifically for mobile users instead. For example, users of a travel-oriented site are going to be concerned with research and planning a trip on their desktop computers, but they want easy accessible directions and itineraries while actually traveling. If your target users have distinct needs according to what device they’re using, a separate mobile site may be your best choice.

No matter how much business and developers may debate the pros and cons of the two solutions, in the end your site’s visitors don’t care whether it’s responsive or mobile. They just want it to work. And that remains Signal’s guiding principle as well.

The truth is there are actually very few “best practices” for landing pages that work across the board. That’s why you test. Sure, you want to write persuasive copy. You want to match the messaging in your ad text with that copy. And you don’t want anything extra that could distract visitors from your main purpose. But ultimately, there’s no way to say for sure what will drive conversions with your audience until you test it.

Here are a few simple tips to consider:

1)  Landing pages should be source-specific. Just as a targeted ad for one demographic might show poor results when displayed to another demographic, variations on your landing page will have a different effect depending on the source of your visits. But don’t let this overwhelm you; test broadly at first, then narrow down to optimize on your initial findings. The goal is to find the right combination of ad, demographic or source, and landing page.

2)  Be sure you’re working with a flexible landing page template from the start. This will allow you to test anything you can think of without having to make major adjustments on the backend. Optimizing your template for mobile devices will also help boost conversions.

3)  Remember to consider foreign audiences. This can involve more than just ensuring it’s correct linguistically. Is it designed with the target culture in mind? What variations need to be considered for payment options or form fields? Planning for these requirements from the start will help simplify and reduce costs down the road.

4)  Keep in mind your landing page may be part of a conversion funnel or a series of landing pages. By letting your visitors segment themselves, you can display the most relevant content possible depending on the path they choose. This will allow you to keep your landing pages simple, focused and highly relevant to the user.

5)  Remember, testing happens in cycles. There are many ways to test landing pages. Test every page element possible.

6)  Determine how large your test slice should be. The more data you have, the more confident you can be in the results.

7)  Collect enough data to be confident before you select a winner.

8)  Avoid inconsistencies in testing. Be sure to only change one element at time. For example, you can’t test two different calls-to-action if you’re using a different offer on each page.

9)  There are a lot of tools out there to help with landing page testing and website optimization. Google Content Experiments, Optimizely, Experiment.ly and Unbounce are just a few. What’s best for your project will likely depend on how much traffic you get and how extensive your landing page program will be.

10)  Keep testing!

• Reduces traditional printing and distribution cost
• Engages better using interactive multimedia
• Ensures your sales team is delivering consistent information
• Content updates can be made centrally and available to everyone at the same time

Here are two ways Signal helped our client John Deere leverage the iPad as part of their sales process.

Mower Match

Originally designed as a tool to help dealers showcase certain product features that are hard to demonstrate on the showroom floor, the app uses video, 3-D imagery and animations to engage potential customers and help them decide whether a lawn tractor or zero turn mower is the best fit for them.
Download the App

John Deere Water

Released just this week, this iPad app serves as a sales tool for dealers, offering a searchable library of marketing materials for John Deere’s irrigation products. Users can read brochures or watch a variety of videos, all categorized by product – no more fiddling around to find the right video or printed sales sheet.
Download the App

Both of these were created as native apps, a choice that allows for greater customization and for all of the content to be embedded, so that no Internet connection is necessary.

However, native apps are not the only solution. Depending on your needs, you can consider web-based apps, publishing platforms like Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, or even eBooks as a possible answer.

I know first hand that sales teams are always looking for tools that can help them engage a prospect and improve a sales presentation. These are just two ways we’ve helped the same company in this effort. How might you use the iPad?

The site looks great on mobile devices, so be sure to check it out on your tablet or smartphone.

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