The Mobile Marketing Blog - TellMyCell

Can Mobile Technology Revolutionize Healthcare?

One of the hottest topics to hit the campaign trail this year is healthcare. Both Democrats and the GOP have spent time discussing the sustainability of President Obama’s universal healthcare system (Affordable Care Act), spurring much political debate along the way. However, what you haven’t heard any of the presidential candidates talk about is mobile technology, and how smartphones could be the key to revolutionizing our crippled healthcare system. 

 

A Booming Industry 

This year, at the Mobile World Conference and South by Southwest Interactive Conference, people were talking about mobile technology and healthcare—and they weren’t just talking about new jogging apps and calorie calculators. More than 100,000 mobile health apps are in app stores worldwide; it is estimated that by 2017, these apps will reach a combined total value of $26 billion. If apps are any indication of smartphone users’ interests, it’s clear that healthcare and wellness are fast becoming a priority in the online mobile space. 

Improving healthcare in the mobile age isn’t just about people and their phones; it’s about streamlining cumbersome administrative costs and adding much-needed transparency to insurance. This is where a lot of the current debate stems from—financial missteps that have cost the American public its peace of mind. However, these worries might soon have a solution. 

 

Better Technology, Improved Treatment 

One of the greatest challenges faced by our healthcare system today is the lack of resources we have to treat one of our largest aging populations: baby boomers. These individuals will need better access to healthcare, and they’re going to need more of it, as they get older. Mobile technology could greatly reduce the strain of this burden by offering patients more access to their physicians, as well as reducing administrative costs with automated reminders for appointments, prescription refills, emergency services and more, all available via text. 

Reducing administrative costs will also be achieved by streamlining communications among patients, providers, and insurance companies. Digitalized communications, as well as electronic records, will reduce the time it takes to receive services. Electronic healthcare records will also allow physicians to offer more personalized care. Increased data and analytics can provide contextual clues about patient behavior that doctors have never had access to. This is especially true in developing areas of the world, where healthcare is often limited. 

Saving Lives 

Advancements in mobile technology, including Near Field Communication (NFC), iBeacon technology, and geo targeting are tools that we can use at home and abroad to improve healthcare on a global scare. Take text messaging, for example: SMS has already been used in several studies to help manage the treatment of diseases like diabetes. It’s also helped patients kick bad habits like smoking and combat maternal and child mortality rates in countries like Rwanda. We may take SMS text for granted, but when healthcare is severely lacking, it could be the only lifeline available. 

This is a reality that Penn State Associate Professor Richard Lomotley knows all to well. In 2015, Lomotley lost a family member living in rural Ghana to a snakebite. 

“It shouldn’t happen when information about symptoms and emergency instructions [is] only a fingertip away,” said Lomotley. 

But it does happen, all the time. 

Mobile technology is going to give us the tools we need to revolutionize the medical industry, in ways we can’t yet predict. From wearable technology and better user experiences, to real-time monitoring of sick patients, mobile technology should be at the center of the political discussion. 

 

5 Things Healthcare Professionals Want From Mobile Tech

Electronic health records (EHRs) are digital tech cornerstones for many in the healthcare industry. However, physicians cite several complaints regarding these records. These include patient management, communication, and scheduling issues, among others. Physicians are subsequently calling for numerous mobile tech reforms to make their jobs easier, with the top five including: 

 

1. Privacy and Security

Privacy and security are among the top physician concerns in terms of EHRs. Physicians often use smartphones to access patient records, communicate with members of their staff, and handle personal communications. Keeping patient information secure and confidential is an essential component of the healthcare industry, and mobile tech must ensure the information remains private. Samsung’s KNOX Workspace is among the containerization solutions utilized so physicians may separate professional communications from private ones while still using the same device. 

 

2. Patient Management Medical Apps

Physicians increasingly use apps that make it simple for patients to share data about their medical conditions, such as diabetes and COPD, and learn more about them. These apps must be able to connect with EHRs for physicians and patients to use them effectively. 

 

3. Patient Scheduling Tools

Device-based appointment scheduling tools are something both physicians and patients applaud as highly convenient, as they seriously decrease no-shows and therefore assorted costs. ZocDoc is one example, with the app allowing patients to schedule appointments and enjoy connections with medical facilities. It also allows physicians to further advertise their services and ensure patients remember the days and times of their appointments. If a patient must cancel, the medical facility can easily schedule another patient in the time slot. 

 

4. Reference Tools and Journals

Physicians often use mobile tools for reference reasons. The ability to access medical journals, reference data, textbooks, and other continuing education materials through mobile means is an invaluable asset to physicians, as it increases efficiency as well as convenience. 

 

5. Remote Patient Monitoring

Physicians also want remote patient monitoring, which is now available on their smartphones in addition to their patients’ devices. Longer-term data trends regarding blood pressure, weight, glucose management, and heart rate offer assistance and guidance in between doctors’ visits, resulting in improved care and patient safety. A great example is a patient being able to view his or her insulin pump data on a smartphone, and wirelessly transmit the data from implantable pacemakers and defibrillators.

The ability to communicate with patients, access important resources, schedule and re-schedule appointments, and more equals the ability to transform the healthcare industry and arguably make the jobs of physicians around the country much more streamlined. The healthcare industry is considered “late to the game” in regards to mobile tech use, however both physicians and their patients are eager to see changes implemented. Making certain mobile options for physicians and patients are completely secure is probably the most important issue of the moment, with many more convenient possibilities likely to follow once the security issue is resolved. Physicians are quite tech-happy, after all. 

TCPA: What Your Business Needs to Know (TMC)

Bulk text messaging is a useful addition to any mobile marketing strategy - but there are rules and regulations to be understood before deploying this powerful technology. Understanding telephony law is crucial if you don’t want to be hit with a lawsuit.

The power of a text blast lies in the way SMS messaging is consumed. Most text messages are opened and read within minutes of receipt, and it remains a highly personalized, spam free medium. The ability to deliver tailored brand messages direct to consumer’s palms is attractive to businesses in practically any industry. 

To continue reaping the manifold benefits of bulk text messaging without the headache of costly legal action, it’s important to understand what the law says:

 

Text Blasts and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) requires commercial interests to gain consent before sending text messages to an individual’s phone or other mobile device (when the legislation first passed it related only to landline telephony, but was updated in 2012 to reflect the growing commercial use of bulk text messaging as a marketing tool). 

The TCPA is a Federal law. It prohibits unsolicited calls and tex messages, with anyone found in breach of the law facing up to $1500 in statutory damages for each violation. If you step on the wrong side of the law during a text blast campaign, it could be very expensive indeed. Bear in mind also that recipients of unsolicited text messages are not required by the law to prove any harm was done - the damages apply irrespective.

It’s easy to see how falling afoul of the TCPA could ruin a business. Even small businesses are now running bulk text messaging campaigns in which thousands of messages are sent. The costs are appealingly low compared with other forms of advertising - providing the campaign abides by the law. Take a wrong step and it would be a financial disaster.

If you’re thinking about sending a text blast to promote your business, make sure you’re TCPA compliant before setting up a campaign. Failure to do so could result in a very expensive settlement. To protect your business, acquaint yourself with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act before you embark on any bulk text messaging campaign.

The Lab App Bringing Experimentation to Budding Scientists' Phones

Today’s kids get much of their information about the world from digital media, which is why companies like interactive media publisher FatRedCouch turn to phone and tablet apps when they want to appeal to children. FatRedCouch has partnered with Genius Brands International, a brand management company that focuses on marketing to kids from toddler to tween age, to create the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab app. This app is the first mobile app built for Genius Brand International's animated children’s series, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab. It’s an app that kids can use to explore science in their own way, on their own time.

To fully appreciate the new Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab app, and the potential it has to inspire and enlighten children, let’s take a look the activities that the app offers and how it supports the learning that happens on the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab cartoon series.

 

The Lab App

The Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab app will be a self-contained play environment for kids that allows them to perform experiments at home. Children will be able to play games that revolve around scientific theory and they’ll have the chance to read about famous inventors. The Lab App will feature a screening room that presents clips from the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab animated series, and it will feature activities based on these clips. The Lab App will be an easy-to-use application for iPhone and Android that engages kids and “involves them in the series as members of the Secret Lab Kids’ Club,” according to GBI’s Present of Global Consumer Products, Stone Newman.

 

The Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab Show

Kids can certainly play The Lab App without having watched the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab show, but the app is specifically designed to be a learning tool that expands on the knowledge kids already receive by enjoying the cartoon series. The Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab show is a comedy series from GBI that stars one of the greatest inventors in history and his madcap band of supporting characters, all who teach children how much fun learning about science can be. The series takes place in Thomas Edison’s secret lab, which he built to include a virtual version of himself and his partly completed robot, Von Bolt. Hidden for years, his secret lab was finally discovered by Angie, a 12-year-old science prodigy, who cracked a code to get inside.

As children watch the adventures of Annie and her friends on the animated series, they laugh, have fun, and learn things about the world through science. Now, with the creation of The Lab App, kids can become involved in the scientific experiments, investigations, and journeys of Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab in a way that has promises to teach them even more that can be learned through a cartoon. Through participation in The Lap App projects and activities, scientific facts, questions, and revelations become more understandable. With The Lab App, kids can begin to realize that they too have what it takes to be a real scientist and to make a difference in their world through their inquisitive natures. The Lab App is another example of how access to digital media is opening more doors for young and old to help change the future for the better.

Fighting Teen Smoking Rates with SMS

 

Almost all of us have had trouble kicking a bad habit. There are all kinds of remedies available to support the necessary changes in behavior, and one of the newest is text messaging. 

Mobile-based text messaging, or SMS, is currently taking on one of the most dangerous habits on the planet: cigarette smoking. QuitText, paid for by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, is focusing its effort on young smokers, particularly teens and individuals in their early twenties. 

What’s unique about this demographic is its sensitivity to mobile technology. According to Amelie Ramirez of the Texas Health Science Center, “…people in their early twenties spend a lot of time text messaging anyway, so this is a good way to reach them where they are.”

The program has a fairly simple design and function. Users just text IQUIT to a five-digit number and are then prompted to receive a set number of text messages per day encouraging them to stop smoking. The free service has users regularly update their smoking status and report relapses. Additionally, it offers emergency help for those that qualify. 

"This way if you are a teen who is smoking, your personal coach is there with you all the time," Ramirez said. 

So far, the default setting (four to eight daily messages) has been the most accepted with median use reaching 27 days of activity. While about half of the users did fail to report at least one update, relapse reports were considerably lower. 

In a recent study published by the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, the most important feature of the program was its variability—the fact that young smokers were able to stick (more or less) to the program. 

According to the report, “Some users complied fully with the requirement to report status changes, while even among those who did not, many found QuitTxt to be very helpful, suggesting that perfect congruence between message content and quit status is not essential.”

In other words, whether or not users followed the program perfectly, they still felt good about the service—and sometimes that’s all you need to kick a bad habit.  

Nicotine remains one of the most addictive drugs and the most challenging for people to quit, despite overwhelming evidence of its risks to personal health and the health of others. 

If texting can somehow manage to break through to a few smokers and get them to quit, perhaps it’s a safe model that could be implemented to help aid others in ceasing addictive habits.

 

SMS & the Fight Against Ebola

 

Mobile communication is capable of reaching people in the furthest flung corners of the planet. Many parts of the African continent are benefitting from SMS messaging, which is doing everything from facilitating cash transfers to Rwandan refugees to sending weather forecasts to Malawian farmers.

In Sierra Leone, SMS messaging is being used to tackle Ebola. The SMS Voice project (follow the link to donate) was set up by Christian Aid. It enlists ‘volunteer citizen reporters’ to share vital information about the virus and which regions are the most badly affected by sending text message alerts.

Raising awareness is the most effective strategy for combating Ebola. Why? Because it’s not all that easy to contract. The virus has a reproduction number - or R0 - of 2, which means the average number of people who catch the disease from one person is two. By way of comparison, HIV has an R0 of 4, measles has an R0 of 18 (assuming nobody in the population is vaccinated). For Ebola to spread, it required close contact with bodily fluid like blood or vomit. 

With such a low susceptibility risk, the answer to the recent outbreaks in West Africa comes down to a lack of education about how Ebola spreads. Every culture has an instinctive tendency to increase human contact whilst caring for the sick. Misinformation and basic lack of information is responsible for the ongoing epidemic.

Which is where programs like the SMS Voice project come in. Even in the poorest areas of Sierra Leone, basic feature phone ownership is high but far fewer people have access to the internet. SMS messaging is the most reliable way of exchanging the spread of Ebola for the spread of information capable of halting the disease.

SMS Voices isn’t just dealing with healthcare. Social ills are being addressed by the program, which enables the ‘citizen reporters’ to raise concerns with local councilors via anonymous ‘microreports.’ Fitting inside the 160 character limit of a standard text message, each report contains crowdsourced information regarding youth, governance, access to services, gender and justice and security. 

Issues raised via text message alerts include the scarcity of teaching resources in school, poorly maintained roads, bridges and other infrastructural components, and conflicts between local interest groups. The project is also tackling clean water, FGM, domestic violence and teen pregnancy. 

The SMS Voice project is not alone in facilitating text message alerts for health and social crises. Similar programs, backed by charities, businesses, governments or a combination of all three, are connecting people in some of the most deprived parts of the world in the only way possible: by SMS messaging.

 

Text Messaging Can Improve Clinical Trial Participation

 

In the business of clinical trials, it can be difficult to raise interest and acquire volunteers for participation, due to the challenges associated with patient engagement. The analysis of a recent study of clinical trial patient recruitment has determined that SMS text messaging can produce dramatic results. While there are many ways to garner patient participation – via letters or through email – firms that conduct clinical trials are finding that the most effective way to reach new volunteers can be achieved through the simplicity of text messaging technology. 

The study examined the evidence from the Johnson County Clin-Trials (JCCT), a research facility that conducts between ten and fifteen vaccine clinical trials every year. Primarily using email to reach their volunteers, they have come up against some resistance when trying to reach prospective recruits. Studies regarding the effectiveness of electronic correspondence have revealed that emails have an open rate of about 22% – a far cry from the response rate necessary to conduct these clinical trials.

As a result, the Johnson County Clin-Trials decided to employ SMS text messages as a means for electronic communications, based on the effectiveness of text messages in reaching individuals. As opposed to email, 98% of SMS users read their messages, and 90% of these users open their text messages within three minutes of receiving them. Here are the key findings from JCCT’s method:

 

1) A marked increase in response to messages

The use of text messages to reach potential volunteers produced a response five times greater than that of their previous method, via email. The study achieved a 1% increase in enrollment for every 1.5% increase in text messages sent. This was much greater than the response increase expected in the hypothesis for the study.

 

2) Positive responses to the SMS method

JCCT patients responded positively to the SMS method. The method practiced compliance with HIPAA and 21 CFR Part 11, making sure that the process was validated. Also, all users were required to opt-in to receiving SMS (per FCC regulations). Overall, the individuals who were contacted welcomed the correspondence, and preferred text message to other forms of communication.

3) Effective two-way communication via SMS

Many patients used the SMS platform to respond directly to the outgoing SMS message. Patients expressed their concerns, questions, and queries for more information. The platform, created by Mosio, provided a framework to have both interactive and automated conversations with future patients, and consequently allowing them to enroll directly. This also reduced the burden of JCCT personnel, freeing them up for other tasks necessary for the clinical trial. 

4) A balance of resources for the clinical trial firm

The SMS text messaging method employed by JCCT allowed the firm to free up resources due to the effectiveness of the technology. Not only did the method boost trial recruitment, but there was evidence of cost savings for the firm. Finally, the study benefited from effective scheduling with the technology, as well as a subsequent improvement in the quality of the clinical trial’s results.

Upcoming studies of clinical trials like that of the Johnson County Clin-Trials will compare the SMS method to other common recruiting approaches in order to quantify the effectiveness of each approach. With a focus on trial retention, future researchers hope to reduce attrition rates and increase adherence with existing clinical trial participants using the SMS method. Clearly, the simple technology of SMS text messaging has been a breakthrough for patient recruitment and engagement, and we can expect to see a great deal more communication taking place through SMS and text messages in the future.

 

SMS Helping Kids Get Vaccinated for Flu

  

A new study has proven SMS messaging to be an effective way of ensuring young patients get protected against influenza. 

The research was undertaken at Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University, under the auspices of a team led by Dr. Melissa Stockwell. They studied 660 children aged between 6 months and 8 years old, an age range that requires two doses of the flu vaccine, administered 28 days apart. The first dose primes the immune system; the second dose protects it. Kids who fail to get both doses are not fully protected against the virus, a fact which prompted researchers to find ways of increasing follow-up appointments. 

The team sent text message alerts to remind parents of young patients to bring them in for the second dose. They began by splitting the participants into three groups:

• Group 1 received an educational SMS containing information on the importance receiving two doses of the vaccine.
• Group 2 received a conventional reminder SMS, simply alerting them to the time and date of the second appointment.
• Group 3 received a written reminder only.

The results showed that kids who received the educational text message were much more likely to attend their second appointment. Nearly three quarters of Group 1 showed up for the second dose, compared with less than a third of Group 2. Of Group 3, 57% attended for the second shot.

Feedback from the families was positive, with nearly 61% of parents citing the text message alert as either the primary reason or part of the reason they attended the second appointment.  

The findings could ultimately improve flu vaccine coverage, which is low among young children. Dr. Stockwell equates failure to receive both doses to ‘wearing half a bicycle helmet’ and says many kids are ‘unprotected when the virus begins circulating.’

Previous studies have shown that appointment reminders issued by mail or telephone are ineffective, especially among low-income, urban families - precisely the demographic most at risk for under-vaccination.  

Mortality rates are hard to accurately gauge, but CDC estimates anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 flu-related deaths occurred in the United States between 1976 and 2007. The most at-risk groups are the elderly and the very young, but because seasonal influenza often leads to death from other causes, the virus is rarely listed on death certificates. Experts agree that counting only those deaths where flu is listed on the death certificate would constitute a gross underestimation of the true impact of the virus.

Dr. Stockwell’s controlled trial provides the medical community with valuable information for establishing best practices for influenza vaccine reminders. It seems that text messaging is a highly effective method, one that is already being used with increasing frequency in other areas of medicine.

5 Elementary Mistakes Made by Mobile Marketers

 

Not every mobile marketing campaign will be the success you’d hoped for. In business, as in life, you win some and lose the rest. Pay close attention to each loss, however, and you’ll start to learn where you went wrong. The more you learn about past mistakes, the fewer you’ll make next time.

If you’re devising your first mobile marketing strategy, you can get a head start on that learning curve by avoiding a few basic but common errors. Be as creative as you like, but avoid the following fundamental faux pas.

 

1) Fail to Optimize Content for Mobile

A mobile marketing campaign should provide quality content. It implies that your brand offers good value to its customers. But there’s little point having compelling content if people can’t easily view it from a mobile device. More than 50% of consumers only read emails on a mobile device, and for many people their smartphone is their primary point of access to the web. That’s why your website must be mobile-optimized.

Some of the culprits of this most basic of mistakes are major brands who really should know better. As recently as last year, Amazon sent a mass email that was not mobile friendly.

 

2) Use MMS Over SMS

Commensurate with mobile optimization, it needs saying all on its own: SMS messaging is the only text message protocol you should be using in a mobile marketing campaign. End of story. Many a company has tried to get clever with rich media messaging. Both Starbucks and Macy’s came unstuck after running MMS campaigns that only appeared as intended on a few devices. Resolution varies widely depending on what kind of phone the recipient has, and a significant minority of people still use older phones incapable of displaying images at all. Keep it simple. Send SMS messages containing links to all the rich content you've created and you can be certain people will see it.

 

3) Omit the Call to Action

A strong call-to-action is an essential element of any successful mobile marketing campaign. If you’re a retailer with a new in-store app you want people to know about, there’s no point waiting for them to visit your website to find out about it – foot traffic in a store won’t go home and do that unless there’s a problem with what they’ve bought. Clearly signpost the availability of the app around the store, and tell consumers why it’s of value to them. Equally, text message campaigns should state what customer x must to do get value y.

 

4) Fail to Tell the World

You might have the greatest special offer in your industry, but without a strong promotional campaign it’s all for nought. For maximum promo penetration, spread the word across multiple channels. Social media, website, SMS messaging, guest blogging, traditional ad buys – leveraging all available touchpoints will yield dramatic results in terms of traffic and, ultimately, sales.

 

5) Make Opting In & Out a Headache

There are two actions you should make as simple as possible for customers: opting in to receive notifications and opting out of them. If there’s a disparity between the two you’ll irritate people and even make them suspicious of your brand. QR codes are a good example of how to waste people’s time – and your budget. Can you be sure everyone in your target market has a QR scanner? Is it convenient for those that do to use it when they see your code? 

Instead of using gimmicks, offer something of real value to consumers who sign up to your contact list. Equally, include a clear link in every communication that allows people to opt out in a single step. People are fickle, chopping and changing brand allegiances as it suits them, so the more user friendly your experience is the likelier they are to return later - even if they’ve opted out. Make them jump through hoops and your brand will be mentally blacklisted.

3 Geo-Targeting Techniques

 

The brave new world of geo-targeting opens up a wealth of creative possibilities for mobile marketers. This technology allows businesses to target audiences according to city, state, country, ZIP code or designated market area.

Geo-targeting is not just about locating the whereabouts of a specific device. Web searchers who type in a specific location can receive highly relevant information about that location, even if they’re thousands of miles away. If you’re researching specific regions for relocation purposes, this is obviously very useful indeed.

For marketers new to the geo-location game, getting to grips with the nuances can be daunting. Here, we look at three geo-targeting techniques that are effective and relatively easy to implement. Use these techniques as part of your AdWords campaign and your ROI will almost certainly improve. 

Bid Adjustments

Adjusting bids according to location is a surefire way to make your ad dollars go further. How does it work? Let’s say you run an events management company that hosts attendees from all over the United States. Calculate the percentage of attendees from each state, city or region. Use the EC % bid adjustments to match the list of attendees. Click here for more details on how bid adjustments work.

Keyword Only Geo-Targeting

Whether by design or necessity, many types of business don’t need to target an audience according to location settings – simply targeting the right keywords will suffice. For instance, a grocery delivery service may create separate keyword campaigns for different areas by targeting ‘grocery delivery Santa Barbara’ or ‘grocery delivery Reno’. This tactic works especially well for businesses that consumers know are limited to certain areas. In those instances, people are more likely to include a geo-modifier as part of their query. The beauty of this technique – as opposed to other forms of geo-targeting – is that no consent is required. With a strong SEO strategy, keyword targeting lets the customer come to you.

Lose the Chaff

By definition, geo-targeting specific locations also means excluding others. With AdWords, you can exclude areas that are a dead-end, business-wise. Retailers might choose to exclude towns where they don’t have a store. Exclusion is really about honing your campaign into a lean, mean, marketing machine with an optimal ROI. To execute a tight exclusion program, run an analytics report to see where most of your clicks are coming from, sort the locations by quality and conversion rate, and either exclude them or use the aforementioned bid adjustment method.