I have had to read many books, which have all been chalk full of vital information, but there are two that have really stuck out. These two books I continuously use as references that I go back to over and over again. They are:

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly

One of the most important pieces to Internet Marketing that I have learned is utilizing Social Media for “Word of Mouth” Advertising and how “Word of Mouth” is so much more important today then EVER before.

Just think about it!

Did any of you see the video “JK Wedding Dance” where the whole bridal party, groom and bride danced down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever?” – This video alone has had 37,172,011 views (probably a lot more now) – were you one of them?

Or how about “David at the Dentist” the young boy who came out of the dentist office still drugged up and his Dad video tapped him? That video has had 44,090,407 views to date.

You probably followed the link from a friend’s Facebook, MySpace or found it on YouTube.

This is Word of Mouth at it’s finest and what you would call a “World Wide Rave!”

What if you could create a World Wide Rave for your business, product or idea?

Some of you are Real Estate Agents, small business owners’, work for a corporation or are trying to market your own site or yourself for that matter.

Did you know that Vail Resorts, North America’s Largest Skiing Company in Vail, Colorado reduced 80% of their print advertising this year according to CEO Rob Katz.

How did they do this?

By using Social Media and creating their own World Wide Rave.

After reading this case study about Moosejaw I wanted to find the company that made it all happen and knew I could find another company that they were helping. The company that I found was not a company at all but one of the nation’s largest worship centers with a congregation of over 20,000 members, Greater Allen Cathedral of New York.

They don’t have reward points; discounts or deals, for no amount of these are going to be the means to get you to heaven! What they do offer is a great way to continue to build a trusted, loyal community while keeping the congregation “in the know” of what is going on. They are able to text their congregation to remind them of upcoming event, holidays that the church office will be closed and if inclement weather has forced them to cancel a service they are able to get that information in the palm of the people.

One way that the Church could interact more with the congregation more would be to text weekly scriptures to those that opt-in and ask for feed back as to what they felt that scripture was speaking to them. Then possibly on Sunday morning service read some of the insights that the people texted in.

Another great way to interact is allow those that have questions about God, the bible or even the word they heard on Sunday morning, be able to ask through text messaging and receive an answer. A lot of times we sit through a service and it conjures up many questions that we want to ask the minister but can’t. By opening up the lines of communication they are giving the people in their congregation a sense of worth and belonging to a church that really cares about their spiritual walk.

Finally, how about giving the people the means to text a prayer request or even a praise report? Now that would be a novel idea for a church.

Just a few suggestions I have on making Mobile Marketing work for churches.

In this article, http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/7717.asp, I really liked how the author explained the two ways to reach your adult audience, through SMS or email. By asking the customer if they would like to receive offers on their cell phone they are putting the decision making in the customer’s hands and ultimately giving them control. This has not been the case for years and years.

How many times have you been interrupted while watching a movie or sports on T.V. with advertisers screaming at you to buy their products?

Those days are over!!! The consumer can now say “Yes” or “No” to receiving your offers! So as a marketer or business owner you need to make sure you know your audience and how to target them tactfully.

What kinds of mobile applications would best capture the adult audience?

As an adult and business owner I would have to say one of the apps that I would most likely use would be for banking. According to a research performed by Luth Research on behalf of the MMA, 17% of adults in the U.S. use mobile banking. The research showed that 11% of the adults using mobile banking actually used their browser instead of an app. This leaves the door wide open for app developers to start designing online banking apps. http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/survey-finds-17-of-us-adults-use-mobile-banking-mobile-web-sms-leading-methods-5232/

Another great app for adults is the barcode scanner. Everyone is looking for the best deal and if you have an app that can tell you where that best deal is then you’re golden. For example, if I am looking for the best price on a flat screen T.V. and I go to one retail store that is selling it for $1,200, scan the barcode and find out that another retail store located 5 miles down the street has it on sale for $900. That is a savings of $300 that allows me to get the mounting brackets to hang it up on my wall. http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/scanlife-updates-barcode-mobile-app-now-capable-of-reading-all-barcode-formats-including-upc-5550/