BBM Channels if well structured out, could become the social media hub for mobile advertising.

1. BBM
Channels
Leveraging For Mobile Advertising
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2. • Brands can create posts & add images, up to 400 characters of
text and can link readers to their actual website for the latest
products, services and activities on-going.
• A menu bar keeps track of any Channels that the brands own,
ones they can subscribe to and also some featured Channels
from Blackberry (all free).
• Because BBM was designed for mobile from the start, the
navigation and user interface are comfortable and reader
friendly.
Engage:
Brands can Build an intimate and
loyal followership by sharing their
updates and posts with the
immediacy and reliability of BBM.
Interact:
Subscribers can Participate in a
brand’s channel by adding
comments, and liking and sharing
the brand’s posts.
Measure:
Brands can Monitor the activity in
their channel so as to improve the
experience for their subscribers
and drive engagement.
BBM CHANNELS
WHAT IS BBM CHANNEL?
• BlackBerry first introduced the BBM Channels in May of 2013,
touting it as a way for businesses and celebrities to better
connect with their fans. The feature hit BlackBerry 10 first and
recently made its way to Android and iOS.
• Best described as a little bit of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
all in one place. It's like having your own mini blog.
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3. WHY BRANDS NEED IT
• BBM Channels enables brands to effortlessly
target, reach and be discovered by the most
active instant messenger users across
BlackBerry®, iPhone® and Android™; to spark
a conversation in real time with their audiences
• Hence, brands can communicate to an always
on, mobile audience through live updates,
immersive content and time-sensitive offers.
• Brands can stand out from the crowd both on
the smartphone or via the web in just a few
minutes and brand visibility to millions of
devices and BBM users can be achieved.
• It will serve as a new weapon in brands social
marketing attack… Stop Broadcasting, Start
Interacting!
…Stop Broadcasting, Start Interacting!
BBM Channels…
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4. Many celebrities, sports figures and brands have
started to embrace BBM Channels as a new way to
interact with their fans and customers; e.g. TELUS,
Red Bull, Disney and even Coca-Cola are getting in on
the fun of channels.
Here's a list of some of the top brands already using
BBM Channels…
BBM Channels has only been in use for a mere 8
months and already comprises of half a million
channels, according to BlackBerry’s Year-End and
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2014 Results conference call.
BBM Channels is an overlooked, under advertised but
curiously embedded feature within the BBM app.
WHICH BRANDS USE IT
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5. ORGANIC DISCOVERY:
• Publish the Brand’s QR code by printing or posting the Brand’s BBM QR code to her
marketing collateral and social networks.
• Tell everyone you’re on BBM Channels by posting your PIN. To find your BBM
Channels PIN, tap your BBM Channels Profile Image and find the 9-digital/
alphanumeric code starting with the letter “C”.
• Encourage your network to share: Invite your personal BBM contacts and tell your
followers how to invite other people into your Channel.
• Post great content: Great content leads to more sharing which means more
followers.
PAID DISCOVERY:
• Featured Channels: Premium placement in the Featured Channels pane of BBM –
the entry
point for all Search and Discovery of Channels.
• Sponsored Updates: Engage prospective subscribers directly in their BBM “timeline”
of Recent Updates. Guaranteed delivery, and guaranteed “on-glass” placement of your
content to ensure view-ability.
• Sponsored invites: Send limited, exclusive invites to your target audience to join your
Channel.
HOW TO GROW A BRAND’S LIST
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6. Feature Placements: BBM Channel owners can buy a space on the Featured
Channels tab to promote their own channel.
Sponsored Invites: Using characteristics like age and interests, channel owners can
invite users to join their community. The invitations will clearly be marked as
sponsored content, and if the user declines the invitation, he or she won't receive
any further invitations from that channel. BlackBerry expects to limit the number of
sponsored invites that are sent to a user to three per month.
Sponsored Posts: BBM Channel owners can place sponsored posts within a user's
feed of BBM Contacts and BBM Channel updates. The posts will be labelled as being
sponsored. If a user doesn't want to see any further content from that channel, he
or she can block future sponsored updates from it.
BlackBerry also says that users can set their Update filters to only show content
from their Contacts in order to avoid Sponsored Posts altogether.
Mercedes for example offers vouchers to subscribers using through their BBM
Channel,”- The channel currently has over 118,000 followers
ADVERTISING ON BBM CHANNELS
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7. HELP USERS FIND BRAND’S CHANNEL: BBM Channels offers many ways for the brand audience to find her—through
Search, the Featured Channel pane, re-posts and personal invitations from BBM Contacts. Also, by adding the
Channel PIN or QR code to brand’s promotions and social assets, people can be redirected straight to your Channel
PROMOTES BRAND’S CHANNEL TO BBM USERS: With paid placement on the BBM Featured Channel pane, Brands
can get noticed. This offers brands the chance to benefit from premium placement at the entry point for all search
and discovery of BBM Channels. Brands can choose to message a specific target with sponsored invites and posts, so
they can catch their audience’s attention.
MEASURE BRAND’S CHANNEL: Robust measuring tools offer unique, real-time insights into brand’s audience’s
engagement with her content. For every post, brands can see the number of followers, total Channel visits, likes and
comments—all from one dashboard and can drill deeper with stats on delivered and read information for each post.
MANAGE BRAND’S CHANNEL: From setting up the Channel to creating posts, editing newsfeed and reviewing
analytics, Brands have the freedom to choose how they access their information. Choose to manage their Channel via
their devices on the go, or through a web console. Brands can even take it a step further and purchase the
BlackBerry® Social Media Console™ to benefit from a fully integrated dashboard with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and
YouTube, helping them stay on top of their networks.
CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
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8. Victor Nkwocha
Terragon Research & Strategy Unit
98A, Island Way and
Dolphin Estate,
Ikoyi,Lagos.
vnkwocha@terragonltd.com
(M)+234 8166869455, +23408150915992
(L) +2348140000029
www.terragonltd.com
CONTACT US
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