The Bluetooth Question
I have just asked this question on Twitter,
Anyone got any experience / views on Bluetooth broadcast of information? Is it any good what’s the hit rate etc?
In my mind, bluetooth messages may have a use in certain circumstances, like at sporting or music events or where there are large groups of people. I think that it may work if it is from a trusted source, @BostinBloke pointed out his local ice hockey team use it during breaks, people who go to the hockey will know that they use bluetooth and will accept the messages & information. But just having messages being fired out to essentially random people is this a good investment?
I suppose you could say Twitter is just messages being fired at random people, the difference being that users have to opt in (follow a person) to see the messages and if they don’t like them they can opt out by un-following while still seeing messages from other people With Bluetooth it is sort of an all or nothing scenario, you either have Bluetooth on or off. You can’t decide that you don’t want to have a message from the childrenswear shop because you don’t have children but you want it from the pizza shop because you like pizza and you get special offers by Bluetooth if you are passing.
The other issue is security, how many people know of the security risks of having bluetooth on and visible? What are those security risks? A quick Google search shows that there are significant risks depending on what you store on your phone, which with ever increasingly smarter smartphones is quite a lot of personal information, not just about you but also your friends, family & colleagues.
So to expand on that what I would like to know is,
- should organisations invest in Bluetooth senders to engage with people?
- do you personally accept Bluetooth connections when you are walking round a shopping centre or wherever?
- do you even have Bluetooth enabled and visible on your phone?
The biggest thing for me in all of this is, Bluetooth messaging is not social media it is just a way of pushing information out, it is not a conversation like social media should be.
Well I have an iPhone, so even with Bluetooth switched on I wouldn’t be able to receive any broadcast messages.
For anyone with a compatible device, they would need Bluetooth to be on and discoverable (or visible as you put it) – being discoverable is quite a battery drain (and off by default?) so I suspect a lot of people may have it switched off.
There are probably better ways to engage with people.
Those are my thoughts.
Does the iPhone not accept Bluetooth broadcasts?
Bluetooth on an iPhone only supports audio profiles out of the box. In the 3.0 OS Apple added A2DP support but that’s all. Anything else requires 3rd party applications but as 3rd party apps can’t run in the background they wouldn’t really be any good for the kind of thing you’re asking about.
Well I have learnt something already today
Cheers Andrew
I run a Bluetooth marketing company which offers a Bluetooth proximity marketing product supported by more traditional marketing services. http://www.bluair.ie
Bluetooth marketing is an opt in service – a receiver will always be asked if they want to accept data. A message is never sent to a receiver’s handset unless they have expressly opted to accept the data. This means a receiver can pick and choose who’s or what data to accept.
For Bluetooth marketing to work it is essential to offer the receiver value e.g. discounts, free samples, trial products or services. Simply broadcasting a Bluetooth message with no value to the receiver is not advised for two reasons – firstly, these type of messages are essentially spam. Secondly, the acceptance rate of Bluetooth marketing messages is much higher if the receiver is getting something of value and there is an increased viral potential.
To engage in Bluetooth proximity marketing there are data protection laws in Ireland (where we operate) and ethical guidelines to follow.
Traditional direct or proximity marketing involved the design and printing of many leaflets and a means to distribute these leaflets. The ROI on this type of marketing is typically very low, approx 2-5%. Bluetooth proximity marketing is a new innovative way to roach potential and existing customers. The Bluetooth message delivers value to receiver, there is an increased viral capacity, and the need for thousands of paper leaflets is negated so it is greener than traditional direct marketing.
The product we provide is 100% measurable so our clients can see the success of the campaign up to the minute. Campaigns can be changed immediately if they are over or under performing giving the client greater control over their marketing activities.
So should organisations invest in Bluetooth marketing? Before jumping in head first to any marketing activity organisations should ask themselves why they would invest in this type of marketing, does it fit in with their overall marketing strategy, what do they want to achieve with it and do they have the resources to support it? We offer organisations a free two week trial to gain an understanding of the service and get customer feedback.