Salem-News Goes Mobile, Driving Innovation Through the Roof

Everyone can now easily access Salem-News.com on handheld devices, on the go at mobile.Salem-News.com.

Add mobile.Salem-News.com to favorites in your mobile device to stay connected, wherever you may be.

(SALEM, Ore.) - We are proud to present Salem-News.com's latest expansion into the world of New Media: mobile news! Consumer usage of mobile devices is exploding, and Salem-News.com is there. Salem-News.com goes beyond the PC to reach more people around the world, 24 hours a day, bringing news to wherever they may be.

Mobile.salem-news.com provides viewers with our top five stories at their fingertips, and they can expand each story or explore our news archives for more indepth information. Our mobile product is also a viable marketing channel, with ad space and functionality consistent with industry standards, per the MMA (mobile marketing association), and competitive rates and packages, available upon request.

Accessed equally well on iPhone, iPad and Android platforms, Salem-News.com's mobile advertising network was created for quick and easy use. It is very important to us that our ad clients and sponsors stay ahead of the curve technically without having to stray from their own professions; with Salem-News, they don’t have to worry about keeping up with this end of their marketing plan.

The Salem-News.com mobile platform facilitates banners, Click-to-Call ads, and third screen options with links to advertisers’ mobile websites or a landing page, viewable in mobile web browsers. Salem-News will also provide mobile landing pages for those clients whose IT departments haven’t had time to develop that product.

Mobile video sponsorship will soon be available as well, with special needs considered. Salem-News will edit video commercials specifically for the mobile viewer, so that they can be watched easily on the small screen. "Pre-roll" are spots that run before video news reports. These will be produced short in length, with large text and non-invasive links, as is our standard rule.

The mobile banner ad simply utilizes fixed ad placement technology. The ad has a fixed position on the screen which disappears when the user is scrolling and reappears when stopped. It engages the consumer without disrupting browsing, which is consistent with our ad philosophy. In some cases, consumers may be unfamiliar with using mobile banners, but they will easily recognize text links that can also be clicked on. There’s a learning curve for all users, but Salem-News means to keep it at a minimum.

Presently, Salem-News.com's IT Director Matt Lintz is improving features for rich visual merchandising, specifically video. Adobe says we're not alone. 81% of online companies surveyed are doing the same thing and plan to deploy more features as soon as possible, "thus implying richer mobile experiences will be created and offered over the next 12 months," the company said. We concur.

Everyone Loves Their Phone.

There has never been a commonality between the people of the world like there is now, connected by wireless devices. With 270 million cell phone users combined with thousands of apps, user-friendly browsers and high speed mechanics, the very notion of being able to connect with them is something to behold. That’s 87% of all U.S. households.

25% of all those cell phones are 'smart phones', and that number is increasing daily as is the opportunity to become a part of the mobile marketing world, which in itself will enjoy more than 20 cents of every online ad dollar spent in 2011. Cell phones are the most direct and personal way to interact with consumers, and Salem-News.com provides ease of contact with your target market.

The chance to do something technically progressive and exciting is very intriguing to marketers and users alike, and smart phones are fun. Because of this newfound passion, mobile advertising is already bursting ahead of traditional advertising, and it’s barely out of the gate. In fact, MMA’s US Industry Survey estimated that advertisers will spend 2.16 billion in 2010, in mobile device advertising alone.

Borrell Conference 9/27-29, 2010

That fact is supported by Borrell Associates, who forecast a moderate increase in overall ad spending for 2011, but the strong growth continues to be solidly in online advertising, including mobile. They say that total online ad spending will grow almost 14%, from $45.6 billion in 2010, to $51.9 billion in 2011. Clearly, the marketplace strongly supports online and mobile commerce.

Much of the online ad increase is due to the rising use of “couponing”, expected to grow almost 14%, to $9.1 billion, in 2011, according to Borrell. Coupons are easily received by users, and can be redeemed almost immediately, delivering the brass ring of advertising: instant gratification.

Another thing that mobile offers is “Proximity” advertising. Already on the rise in popularity, mobile devices that can tell users when a store in their immediate vicinity has a “blue light special” or other instant drawing card are getting a lot of attention. Many advertisers are expressing interest in this form of advertising, and the benefits do not only apply to the national chains. Honing in on businesses in the close geographic region to the mobile user should interest local marketers, or they will soon notice that others are surpassing them with this new age technology. The target market is there, waiting for your announcement—or the one from your competitor—and a cell phone is the perfect vehicle.

Salem-News.com is very pleased to have joined the global mobile team, now more thoroughly accessible to fulfill the need for news while viewers are on the run, as well as sharing information about the businesses and products they are interested in.

There is never a dull moment in trailblazing this online news frontier, so please “favorite” the Salem-News.com mobile site, and stay connected to the world at large.

You wouldn't want to miss something important, after all.