The on-the-go nature of mobile marketing, as well as certain technical limitations of the devices most often used to connect to the mobile internet, makes mobile marketing a much different animal than its traditional counterparts. This article will give you some tips that will help you get your message out to all the mobile gadget addicts out there.
Know your hours. You do not want to be messaging customers while they are sleeping or having dinner. Try to avoid bothering them on holidays or Sundays, unless it is important. Your customer does not always want to be dealing with your texts, so make sure you are only texting at good times.
Have a goal. Do not start a mobile marketing campaign until you know exactly why you want to have one. You may want to have extra revenue or draw in more readers, but whatever the reason, you need to track the information you receive to find out if your program is really successful.
Develop an app. Apps are programs for mobile devices that interact with customers in many different ways. They provide easy access to your business through the program the customer installs on their phone. Make your app useful and appropriate to attract the most attention and downloads from your current and potential customers.
Get training. Many vendors actually offer training programs on how to safely and properly run a mobile marketing campaign. These people will educate you on everything from how often to send out deals and messages, to the regulations you will need to follow while your program is ongoing. Take advantage of this.
When creating content applicable to mobile marketing, make sure that your message is easy to understand and brief. Your message must come across loud and clear to your customers. This allows them to understand, relate to and absorb it much faster.
Mobile ads need a stronger call to action than regular ads, so make sure that you're proficient at providing this type of material. A dozen exclamation points and some words like "must" and "now" aren't going to cut it. You need to come up with a wording that will persuade people in only a short sentence or two.
Use proper grammar even though a lot of the mobile world doesn't focus on it. Using abbreviations and net speak like "LMAO" is just not how you want to conduct business. Be the consummate professional here and always work on using good grammar instead of slang or acronyms in your content.
Set aside at least one day a month that's wholly devoted to viewing your stats and the effectiveness of your campaign if you want to adjust properly as you go along. You would probably be better off doing this every two weeks, but once a month is probably more realistic for busy marketers.
Remember that mobile marketing, although it takes place via the mobile net mostly, does not have to work in promotion of an internet business. You can use mobile marketing to promote any on-location business too. In fact, this will allow your customers to see that you're even more tangible and not just an over-the-phone marketer.
The easier it is for your ads to be forwarded, the more likely it is that people will do so. Before you put the finishing touches on your promotion, be sure it is simple and desirable to forward it. For example, you might offer a prize to the recipient whose forwarded information brings the most new visitors to your website.
Before you launch your mobile marketing campaign, it is important to conduct a test to make sure that everything runs like it should. Find some friends or family that all have different phones to be your testers and send them texts. Have them give you feedback on how everything looked and if it was quick and to the point.
Use scannable QR codes to introduce your brand to customers. Link a QR code with a discount or coupon that is only found on the mobile application, product information, short video or another relevant item of value to the user. This is effective at getting customers familiar with your brand.
Be sure to optimize your mobile sites for search engines. Google is an excellent place for starting your mobile SEO because Google is the most popular place for searching through mobile devices.
Do not send SMS messages in all capital letters or add multiple exclamation points or question marks for emphasis. The SMS mobile environment is a very personal one. It's a small amount of text that is tied directly into a location on the mobile device where the user also receives personal communication. Writing messages in all caps or with crazy punctuation can be very off-putting. The all cap message feels like internet screaming and the multiple exclamation points can feel like you are trying to hard to sell your goods or services.
Include a link to your website at the end of your message. You should develop a mobile version of your website that people can easily navigate from a cell phone or tablet. If you do not have a mobile website, most users will still be able to access your regular website on their phones.
Find a way to get your customer's phone number. Ask them to sign up for a member's club or simply give them a sheet to fill in when they buy something at your store. Make them understand that you will be sending them messages about products and discounts in the future.
The old rules of telephone marketing also apply to mobile marketing. The telephone call from a sales person during dinner time is one of the quickest ways to lose a sale and a customer. Time your marketing messages for mid-morning to early-afternoon. Do not send messages in the middle of the night or at dinner time.
As you can see from the tips above, mobile marketing isn't just "mobile + marketing." It's a whole new marketing landscape that requires a specialized approach. People who rely on mobile devices are often busy people, so you need to think outside the box and develop unorthodox techniques to get your mobile message seen.
Know your hours. You do not want to be messaging customers while they are sleeping or having dinner. Try to avoid bothering them on holidays or Sundays, unless it is important. Your customer does not always want to be dealing with your texts, so make sure you are only texting at good times.
Have a goal. Do not start a mobile marketing campaign until you know exactly why you want to have one. You may want to have extra revenue or draw in more readers, but whatever the reason, you need to track the information you receive to find out if your program is really successful.
Develop an app. Apps are programs for mobile devices that interact with customers in many different ways. They provide easy access to your business through the program the customer installs on their phone. Make your app useful and appropriate to attract the most attention and downloads from your current and potential customers.
Get training. Many vendors actually offer training programs on how to safely and properly run a mobile marketing campaign. These people will educate you on everything from how often to send out deals and messages, to the regulations you will need to follow while your program is ongoing. Take advantage of this.
When creating content applicable to mobile marketing, make sure that your message is easy to understand and brief. Your message must come across loud and clear to your customers. This allows them to understand, relate to and absorb it much faster.
Mobile ads need a stronger call to action than regular ads, so make sure that you're proficient at providing this type of material. A dozen exclamation points and some words like "must" and "now" aren't going to cut it. You need to come up with a wording that will persuade people in only a short sentence or two.
Use proper grammar even though a lot of the mobile world doesn't focus on it. Using abbreviations and net speak like "LMAO" is just not how you want to conduct business. Be the consummate professional here and always work on using good grammar instead of slang or acronyms in your content.
Set aside at least one day a month that's wholly devoted to viewing your stats and the effectiveness of your campaign if you want to adjust properly as you go along. You would probably be better off doing this every two weeks, but once a month is probably more realistic for busy marketers.
Remember that mobile marketing, although it takes place via the mobile net mostly, does not have to work in promotion of an internet business. You can use mobile marketing to promote any on-location business too. In fact, this will allow your customers to see that you're even more tangible and not just an over-the-phone marketer.
The easier it is for your ads to be forwarded, the more likely it is that people will do so. Before you put the finishing touches on your promotion, be sure it is simple and desirable to forward it. For example, you might offer a prize to the recipient whose forwarded information brings the most new visitors to your website.
Before you launch your mobile marketing campaign, it is important to conduct a test to make sure that everything runs like it should. Find some friends or family that all have different phones to be your testers and send them texts. Have them give you feedback on how everything looked and if it was quick and to the point.
Use scannable QR codes to introduce your brand to customers. Link a QR code with a discount or coupon that is only found on the mobile application, product information, short video or another relevant item of value to the user. This is effective at getting customers familiar with your brand.
Be sure to optimize your mobile sites for search engines. Google is an excellent place for starting your mobile SEO because Google is the most popular place for searching through mobile devices.
Do not send SMS messages in all capital letters or add multiple exclamation points or question marks for emphasis. The SMS mobile environment is a very personal one. It's a small amount of text that is tied directly into a location on the mobile device where the user also receives personal communication. Writing messages in all caps or with crazy punctuation can be very off-putting. The all cap message feels like internet screaming and the multiple exclamation points can feel like you are trying to hard to sell your goods or services.
Include a link to your website at the end of your message. You should develop a mobile version of your website that people can easily navigate from a cell phone or tablet. If you do not have a mobile website, most users will still be able to access your regular website on their phones.
Find a way to get your customer's phone number. Ask them to sign up for a member's club or simply give them a sheet to fill in when they buy something at your store. Make them understand that you will be sending them messages about products and discounts in the future.
The old rules of telephone marketing also apply to mobile marketing. The telephone call from a sales person during dinner time is one of the quickest ways to lose a sale and a customer. Time your marketing messages for mid-morning to early-afternoon. Do not send messages in the middle of the night or at dinner time.
As you can see from the tips above, mobile marketing isn't just "mobile + marketing." It's a whole new marketing landscape that requires a specialized approach. People who rely on mobile devices are often busy people, so you need to think outside the box and develop unorthodox techniques to get your mobile message seen.