Mediaboss Marketing

digiToken is a new and convenient app that enables consumers to buy airtime, electricity and water online - all from the comfort of your home, saving you time and energy and while practising safe social distancing.

Kagisho Dichabe and Xolisa Vuza, founders of AfriNova Digital

The digiToken brand, as an idea, was born two years ago and we began to conceptualise and work on its specifications. We have recently launched the app in mid-August 2020

When we conceptualised the brand, our core principle was to distribute vouchers and tokens that carry value and can be redeemed by customers for such value within the platform or elsewhere.

Our broader vision for the brand is to support economic inclusion of the masses of people in the rest of the African continent and also drive the economic activity of the informal market (rural, township) in a convenient manner.

We would like to offer a platform that facilitates activities in this market while supporting the core characteristics of such markets such as being unbanked, heavy reliance on cash, shared value. Furthermore, we offer participation on the platform for others to create job opportunities for themselves.

digiToken is an online platform that allows customers to be able to buy/sell any prepaid product that can be distributed as a token/voucher. We also support buying and selling of any product that can be facilitated in a virtual manner as well. We have two modes of operation which are direct buyer or client as well as agent (selling on behalf of digiToken). Products that are live on the platform include electricity, water, data and airtime.

Yes, the platform is homegrown and built in South Africa. It has been a great experience and we have received tremendous support across our partners and clients and we look forward to growing together!

Yes we do and we are already hard at work to ensure these are ready for our customers in the coming weeks.

We formally launched the platform in the mid-August period.

Marketing and creating awareness of the product is always a challenge on something that is digital. Our mission is to reach the masses of people out there as quickly as possible.

Everything is accessible via a digiToken app that can be downloaded from Google Play Store as well as the iOS App store

Stay up to date with us, by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and https://digitoken.africa/

More here:
#DoBizZa: digiToken, the app driving economic activity in the informal market - Bizcommunity.com

Every year, according to Pinterest, September is a time when people reassess their key goals, and re-focus on what's important heading into the last months of the year.

But in 2020, things are looking a little different.

As explained by Pinterest:

"This year, instead of looking outside the home for inspiration, it is clear that a fresh start in 2020 begins within the home and within yourself. Were calling this years transition Back to (home) life. Because this year, people on Pinterest are making the transition back to life with an extra emphasis on turning inwards, both physically and mentally, in order to focus on the areas where they have the most control."

In line with this, Pinterest has published a new listing of key trends that it's seeing among its audience, which may help you map out your Pinterest marketing approach leading into the holiday season.

The main, overarching focus trend, according to Pinterest's data, is positivity:

The relentless news cycle of 2020 has taken a toll on almost everyone, with all of the major, significant news events taking place against the backdrop of COVID-19, which has changed the very way that we live. As such, it's no surprise to see that Pinners are looking for positive inspiration, and hope in these difficult and uncertain times.

That's a key element to keep in mind. Yes, the news, overall, is bad, with the economy heavily impacted, and the damage caused by COVID-19 set to linger for some time yet. But within this, people are coming to social platforms, in many cases, as a means of escape, or relief. And it's worth considering how your promotions and posts tie into this, and align with the need for positive messaging -especially coming into the end of the year.

That can be hard, as there are serious, significant issues which also need to be addressed. But the above chart is worth keeping in mind in your approach.

In terms of audience-specific trends, Pinterest says that Gen Z users are focused on these key topics and areas:

Millennial Pinners, meanwhile, are understandably putting increased focus on their kids:

And interestingly, Pinterest is also seeing a rise in male Pinner activity, with the number of male Pinners up almost 50% year-over-year.

Male Pinners are most interested in:

These are some interesting trends to note, and while a lot of these interest areas are as you would expect, the specific detail here could point to new opportunities and potential for your Pinterest campaigns.

And it is a platform worth considering - Pinterest is now up to 416 million monthly active users, more than Twitter and Snapchat, while the app's year-over-year growth rate is better than even Facebook in 2020, underlining its steadily rising popularity. It doesn't get as much attention as the other social platforms, but Pinterest contintues to refine its use case, and attract more usage as a result, which could make it a more important consideration in your approach.

And as noted, it's usage pool is also expanding. Now, you can reach an even broader audience via Pins, which could help maximize your outreach efforts as we head towards the holiday season.

If you haven't looked at Pinterest in a while, it may be worth spending some time going through the app, and seeing how businesses in your niche are using it.

You can check out Pinterest's full 'Back to (home) life' trends overview here.

The rest is here:
Pinterest Releases New Data on Key Trends Heading into the Last Quarter of 2020 - Social Media Today

Facebook

Presence is more important now than ever. Many around the globe are staying home and limiting their physical, social contact. Families and friends connect via Zoom calls or drive-by birthday parties. Professionals spend countless hours on screens talking with colleagues and clients. "Zoom fatigue" is a new saying among remote workers.

Spatial presence - the feeling of "being there" in a virtual space can unlock doors to social experiences and give people a sense of belonging and fulfillment in a world changed by a pandemic that keeps many physically apart.

The hours we spend on social media have also increased. A recentStatistasurvey showed that 29.7 percent of U.S. social media users used social media 1-2 additional hours per day.eMarketernotes that 51% of U.S. adults are using social media at higher rates during the pandemic.

Social virtual reality, or social VR, has seen an increase in users too. Social VR apps like Rec Room, BigScreen, VRChat, and AltSpace have all seen an increase in traffic. AltSpace is even hosting one of Burning Man's virtual worlds from this year's virtual event. This week, Facebook announced the launch of the public beta for its social VR experience,Horizon,

"I believe the next phase of social media is presence," says early beta Horizon content creator and social media consultant, Navah Berg. "Imagine a place where a brand can invite their brand ambassadors to try out a product without hopping on an airplane? A place a brand can launch a press release without writing a press release but actually being there and sharing the news with a community of journalists in a get together in social VR. There are so many opportunities for brands and content creators. I can't wait to see what happens next."

Berg adds that currently, in social media, people learn through shared passions and build relationships by relaying stories/content via a screen. For her, VR takes it to another dimension, where new friends and new memories converge through an immersive lens that feels as though they are in the same shared space while given tools to use together, before ever meeting IRL. Social VR allows you to learn and build meaningful relationships with your audience by being there creating together vs. watching from a screen in a flat 2D newsfeed.

Navah Berg has been creating worlds inside Horizon and has become one of the top social VR voices.

Sneak peeks of Horizon screenshots are flooding social media. Facebook dropped the gameplay trailer for Facebook Horizon after months of anticipation. The trailer shows avatars playing games in Horizon, building their own worlds, and having fun with other avatars. Facebook Horizon's beta access is currentlyinvite-only.

Facebook has been one of the flagship companies for building VR headsets and promoting social virtual reality. The company bought Oculus in 2014, and since then, they've released a variety of headsets from the tethered Oculus Rift to the standalone Oculus Quest. For them, virtual reality isn't just another way to get people to use Facebook. They see it asthe next computing platformthat will "help people feel more present with each other, even when we're apart" whether at work or at play.

As the pandemic continues to affect our society and the way people socialize, social VR apps and experiences like Horizon can give people a place to gather, play, and create as they may have in real life. Social VR offers those types of interactions in one place - one where users are already connected to their friends who have a compatible VR device.

Facebook Horizon may create a shift in what "social media" means. Instead of consuming articles or reading friend's updates, Horizon offers a different type of online social interaction. Gameplay or world-building takes some of the strain out of being social that feeds creation.

So what do social VR and spatial presence have to do with the future of social media marketing? Well, everything.

Facebookdefines virtual, social presenceas "authentic and lifelike collaboration between people and colleagues in a virtual setting" It's where anyone can manipulate objects, use their hands, and have a sense of touch. Avatars display the same expressions as their human counterparts. Spatial presence includes audio, where the closer you move to a noise the louder it gets. Horizon provides marketing opportunities in three areas: representation, play, and world-building.

Suddenly, relating to a target audience isn't through ads (text, image, or video). It's becoming part of a customer's world and presenting a brand or business as a real being they can interact with in a natural way. Facebook is demonstrating this in Horizon bydeploying staffwho will act as guides or hosts in public spaces. Facebook is suddenly changing the customer service experience from submitting a request to being able to virtually walk up and talk to a Facebook employee.

One of the features of Horizon is playing games like mini golf, escape rooms, paint balloon, or a battlefield with a hybrid sword. Facebook wants Horizon to be collaborative and interactive. This gives brands a chance to get in on the action. Who wouldn't want to see Wendy's vs Burger King in a virtual paint ball fight - the winning team gets a free burger.

Part of Horizon is world-building. Marketing in virtual reality takes a different approach in this new evolving space. Companies could build their own world for users to explore, hiding Easter Eggs (hidden items places in movies or games) for explorers to find leading to discount codes or free items. Companies could harness the excitement that Ready Player One brought to VR by building a world where one lucky winner could rule it for a day.

Creating a world for a brand within Horizon or branded virtual objects that Horizon users can reuse in their own designs are one way to take part in this new, social world. Instead of shooting a commercial in real life (which may be impacted due to the pandemic) brands could shoot one in Horizon, using real platform users as extras. The commercial (and making of it) could be livestreamed to Facebook and shared across platforms.

getty

Collaboration, gameplay, and world-building are all tools marketers need to get familiar with. Social presence in spatial computing will only get more advanced, especially as companies like Facebook ease the barrier to entry.Liam McKill, a Horizon beta world-builder said, "My biggest piece of advice for new creators in Horizon is to experiment constantly. You are in a world that can't be broken and is still relatively unexplored;"

Marketers should take that piece of advice to heart. Marketers would do well to experiment now, so they can be part of the virtual worlds like Horizon.

The future of communications is presence. The convergence of both the physical and virtual worlds will create new opportunities in the future in the way friends, families, and even colleagues connect. The future of connection will push the boundaries of today's technology, one virtual world at a time. The metaverse is coming, and it's a very big deal.

Go here to read the rest:
Social VR, Facebook Horizon And The Future Of Social Media Marketing - Forbes

It doesn't feel like it's August - nearly September - already, does it?

The relentless news cycle of 2020 feels like it's warped our perception of time - or maybe it's simply being locked indoors for so long, or a mental disassociation with time itself as we all look to just get through the days in the hopes of bringing us closer to a resolution, and a return to normalcy.

Whatever it is, 2020 is a year very much like no other. And for marketers, that's made it increasingly difficult to get a solid handle on what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and what's relevant and important - in alignment with your business goals - amid the various crises.

No doubt you're tackling the same at your business - and recently, the team from PAN Communications sought the opinions of some leading experts in the field to help provide some guidance on how the marketing landscape has changed, and what businesses should be considering in their messaging in 2020.

There are some interesting notes, worth factoring into your approach. Check out the infographic below.

Read the original:
CMO Reflections on the State of Marketing in 2020 [Infographic] - Social Media Today

New York, Sept. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Location-based Services Market by Component, Technology, Application, and Industry Vertical : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05955142/?utm_source=GNW

Location-based Services Market Statistics: 2027 The location-based services market size was valued at $28.95 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $183.81 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 26.3% from 2020 to 2027. Advent of digitalization boosts the need for location-based services (LBS), owing to its capability to offer customized marketing strategy solutions, which, in turn, creates new revenue growth opportunities for players opting for these solutions. Location-based services proliferate the demand for analytical solutions, due to their ability to provide and analyze real-time geo-data. For instance, retailers can strategize their marketing campaigns on the basis of customer locations for the nearest store or location-based offers. This is likely to help retailers with new and advanced revenue growth opportunities, which, in turn, is expected to boost the location-based services market during the forecast period. By component, the hardware segment was the highest contributor in the location-based services market in year 2019, due to the advent of digitalization among various industry verticals and high penetration of smartphones among individuals across the globe. Rise in penetration of smartphones and increase in usage of 3G & 4G networks drive the global market growth. In addition, key players have focused on developing low-priced GPS and other components to cater to the increasing demand of consumers, which significantly contributes toward the growth of the global market. Moreover, surge in adoption of mobile commerce and social media activities is expected to supplement the adoption of hardware components in the LBS market. However, services segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period, due to increase in demand for services-as-a-solution in digital transformation activities among industries, especially in emerging economies. Thus, major players operating in the global location-based services market are investing in innovative location-based analytical solutions to gain competitive advantages. North America dominated the location-based services market share in 2019, as most of the top players operate from this region. In addition, presence of well-developed location-based IT infrastructure is expected to boost growth of market in this region. In addition, Asia-Pacific is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR during the location-based services market forecast period. The factors that drive the growth of the market in this region include rise in IT spending capability and upsurge in demand for location-based services from the transportation & logistics sector in this region. The outbreak of COVID-19 is anticipated to have a positive impact on the growth of location-based services market. With the emergence COVID-19, the use of location-based services is likely to enable governments to address the impact of social distancing and facilitate tracking patterns of movements of individuals and traffic patterns. Innovations and advances in location-based services post COVID-19 outbreak with features such as real-time tracking, location-based marketing, and geotagging, have further supported the market growth. The report focuses on the growth prospects, restraints, and location-based services market analysis. The study provides Porters five forces analysis of the location-based services industry to understand the impact of various factors such as bargaining power of suppliers, competitive intensity of competitors, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and bargaining power of buyers. Segment review The global location-based services market is segmented into component, technology, application, industry vertical, and region. By component, the market is categorized into hardware, software, and services. On the basis of technology, it is divided into GPS, assisted GPS (A-GPS), enhanced GPS (E-GPS), enhanced observed time difference, observed time difference, cell ID, and Wi-Fi. The applications covered in the study include location-based advertising, business intelligence & analytics, fleet management, mapping and navigation, local search & information, social networking & entertainment, proximity marketing, asset tracking, and others. Depending on industry vertical, the LBS industry is segregated into transportation & logistics, manufacturing, government & public utilities, retail, healthcare & life sciences, media & entertainment, IT & telecom, BFSI, hospitality, and others. Region wise, the market analysis is performed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA The key players operating in the location-based services market include Alcatel-Lucent SA, Apple, Inc., AT&T Inc., Bharti Airtel, LTD., Cisco Systems, Inc., Google Inc., HERE, International Business Machines Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, and Qualcomm Inc. These players have adopted various strategies to expand its business, strengthen its product portfolio, and increase their LBS market penetration, which, in turn, is expected to support the global location-based services market growth. Top impacting factors Rise in demand for location-based services owing to its diversified scope of applications is a major factor expected to drive the growth of the market. Surge in demand for location-based services among various industry verticals for applications such as location-based advertising, business intelligence & analytics, and fleet management is further expected to offer remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the global LBS industry during the forecast period. Diversified scope of applications The growth of the LBS market is driven by the diversified scope of applications across various sectors. For instance, LBS is used for navigation, traffic management, asset tracking, and proximity-based marketing. In addition, it finds its application in fraud prevention, mobile workforce management, and context advertising. Energy & resource management agencies use LBS for evaluation of land cover, vegetation, water resource management, and geology mapping. The defense & military sector utilize LBS for surveillance, battlefront analysis, and strategy formulation. In civil engineering, LBS solution is used for resource mapping, evaluation of geological information, and estimation of suitable location for building, planning, & construction activities. In addition, transportation, media & entertainment, insurance, and tourism sectors offer a wide scope of applications for LBS. Increase in demand for location-based services Location-based services are used to provide information about users location through internet by using real-time geo-data. The advent of smart devices, wireless technologies, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and smartphone applications has led to aggrandized traffic on websites. This has fueled the adoption of LBS to improve services and enhance user experience depending upon the end users location, which, in turn, is expected drive the market growth. Therefore, LBS has gained importance across various sectors, including government authorities, defense & intelligence, transportation, telecommunication, manufacturing, e-retailing, energy, and natural resource management. Furthermore, increase in penetration of connected devices and machine-to-machine communication systems has notably boosted the need for real-time location-based data sets. This has significantly driven the demand for Internet of Things (IoT) devices across diverse sectors, which is helping companies to develop smart geo-mapping solutions. Thus, aforementioned are key factors are expected to fuel the growth of the global market growth during the forecast period.

KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS This study includes the location-based services market trends, analysis, and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets. The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the location-based services industry. The LBS market is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2027 to highlight the financial competency of the industry. Porters five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers & suppliers in the location-based services market size.

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS

By Component Hardware Software Services

By Technology GPS Assisted GPS (A-GPS) Enhanced GPS (E-GPS) Enhanced Observed Time Difference Observed Time Difference Cell ID Wi-Fi Others

By Application Location-based Advertising Business Intelligence & Analytics Fleet Management Mapping & Navigation Local Search & Information Social Networking & Entertainment Proximity Marketing Asset Tracking Others

By Industry Vertical Transportation & Logistics Manufacturing Government & Public Utilities Retail Healthcare & Life Sciences Media & Entertainment IT & Telecom BFSI Hospitality Others

By Region North America o U.S. o Canada o Mexico

Europe o UK o Germany o France o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific o China o Japan o India o Singapore o South Korea o Rest of Asia-Pacific

LAMEA o Latin America o Middle East o Africa

Key Market Players - Alcatel-Lucent SA - Apple, Inc. - AT&T Inc. - Bharti Airtel, LTD. - Cisco Systems, Inc. - Google Inc. - HERE - International Business Machines Corporation - Microsoft Corporation - Oracle Corporation - Qualcomm Inc.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05955142/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The location-based services market size was valued at $28.95 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $183.81 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of...