It is undeniable that mobile is hot. According to CITA, the International Association for the Wireless Industry, 96 percent of the U.S. population uses a wireless device. Gartner predicts that by 2013, mobile devices will surpass traditional computers as the preferred tool for internet access – driving mobile retail to over $12 billion by 2014. Given the expected growth, using mobile as a marketing channel is something you shouldn’t ignore.
Almost every study of mobile marketing suggests the potential is tremendous. However, all of the terminology and newness of the technology may be overwhelming. You may be unsure of exactly where to begin your efforts. Mobile marketing does not have to be complicated. You can start trying out some of these techniques almost immediately.
Learn the Different Types of Mobile Marketing
There are multiple forms of mobile marketing such as text/SMS, MMS, mobile web sites, mobile search ads and location based ads. It is important that you take time to educate yourself on the potential advantages and constraints of each type before making an investment. For example, SMS or text messaging was one of the first forms of mobile advertising. Text messages can be received by even the most simplistic mobile devices, which means you can reach a very broad audience. However, like with email marketing, text messaging should be permission-based and allow recipients to opt-in or opt-out.
The more familiar you are with the capabilities of different forms of mobile marketing, the more capable you will be of selecting the right tool or tools for distributing your message. Additionally, your familiarity will allow you to better address the concerns of your target audience, like privacy, that may arise from the use of mobile marketing.
Social is on the Move
Interaction with social networks is no longer just occuring at a computer. Social media is now in the palm of users hands – literally. Depending on your business goals, this can make establishing a social media presence even more important. You should consider creating a brand presence within the mobile features of social networks such as Facebook’s Places. Establishing a relationship via social media is an excellent opportunity to establish a deeper relationship with your customers and prospects using mobile.
Location, Location, Location
Mobile devices can provide detailed information about where customers and prospects are located. You should definitely consider making your business visible on Web 2.0 sites that leverage location based services or geo-targeting such as Gowalla, Foursquare and Facebook Places. Since new services are popping up everyday, you should focus on the most popular ones, unless you have a specialized target audience that is better served by one of the smaller sites. Once you have established a presence on these sites, you can create mobile only promotions such as offering coupons or discounts to anyone that checks-in on Foursquare.
Let Them Find You
The growth in usage of smart phones with 3G and 4G connection speeds has increased the volume of internet searches performed on mobile devices. According to RBC Capital, mobile search represented 9 percent of overall search volume in 2010, but is expected to grow to over 20 percent by 2012, and like with internet use on a computer, search is a significant factor
in people knowing you exist.
source: RBC Capital Services
There are several factors you should consider when thinking about mobile search in addition to typicalconcerns like SEO:
- Will you run ads on mobile search sites? The percentage of the screen consumed by mobile ads is higher than on a computer monitor, which may increase the click-through rates for your ads. Additionally, mobile ads allow much more fine-grained location based targeting, which could also improve click through rates.
- Where will users be taken when they click? Do you have a mobile optimized website?
- Will you have a presence on “search-like” services outside of traditional search engines like Yelp or mapping sites? Many users have apps installed and use them instead of search when they need to find something quickly.
You Must Be Present to Win
If you have an existing website – and who doesn’t these days – you should strongly consider creating a mobile optimized website. Mobile optimization adjust display elements based on the type of device accessing the content; this is important because the devices have smaller screens, slower connections and in many cases, support for fewer features than laptop or desktop computers. That super cool Flash animation can quickly become a not so cool annoyance and drive your prospects elsewhere if it takes minutes to load or won’t load at all.
Fortunately, many content management systems and hosting companies can automatically create a mobile version of your site with no programming at all. If this is not sufficient, you will need to budget to get a specialized version of your site created.
Mobile Moves Fast
Keep in mind that mobile marketing is still a relatively new practice. It will continue to evolve and change as new devices, operating systems and networking technologies are introduced. While it is impractical to try to keep up with every change, it is important for you to maintain an awareness of major trends and be prepared to adjust your strategies.