Are you getting into mobile marketing for the first time? You probably don’t even know where to start. It’s no secret that getting into mobile marketing for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. Below are some tips that can help to make promoting your business using mobile applications a bit easier.
Use QR codes to attract customers. QR codes are scannable codes that take a customer to whatever site you link them to. These should be large and clear so that the mobile phones have no difficulty reading them. Customers love ease and simplicity, so if you hook your site up to one of these it will get used.
Do your research. Understanding how mobile marketing works is the most important step to take before you get into it. Search for other marketing campaigns, and see which ones worked out well, and which did not. Having this information to back you up can put you on the successful track to marketing well.
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.
Make sure that your messages are targeted to their purpose in mobile marketing. You won’t have any room for meaningless words here. If the customer cannot understand your message in a few words, then it isn’t even worth contacting them in the first place. You need to be very clear here as to your purpose.
Do not use text abbreviations in your mobile marketing message. While it is acceptable for person to person communication, it looks unprofessional coming from a business. Also avoid using all caps in your message. Your consumers will feel like they are being yelled at. However, it is acceptable to use all caps in your call to action.
Be sure that you understand that a mobile site is not just a scaled-down version of your business, but it’s actually a summarized version. Many mobile marketers make the mistake of attempting to scale down their entire business and ultimately end up losing customers. You do not need to create two separate businesses here.
Make sure you know when people are getting your text messages. They shouldn’t be sent when they’re sleeping or having dinner with their families. Sending out text messages at bad hours will just annoy customers.
Meet your customers where they are to increase your sales. Mobile marketing is a necessity for most businesses today so you need to be up to speed on them. Local search for products, with immediate sales resulting is fast becoming a popular method of shopping for consumers. If you are not search-able to them on mobile, you will miss potential sales!
The fastest growing category with mobile browsers and mobile apps are social networking websites. So business must accept social networking and go where the people are. Mobile marketing success will depend upon your business making a presence on the social networking sites and using it correctly to grow your business.
Be sure to lay claim to your business in each social network’s location pages. In mobile marketing, it’s all about location, location, location. Smart mobile devices, all have location awareness built into their systems, so users can tell what is around them. Make sure they can find you by claiming your page on sites, like Foursquare, Facebook Places, Gowalla and Google Places.
It is important to keep track of all the responses that you are getting from your mobile marketing adventure. This will allow you to know if you are doing the right thing, or if you need some improvement somewhere. Use a mobile-only web analytics service to keep track of everything.
Keep the messages you send short and precise. Most people will not read a long message on their cell phones or tablets. Your messages should immediately mention the product or offer you are advertising. Phrase your message so that it calls for an action: you should encourage people to find out more about your offer.
Do not use abbreviations for text or use all capital letters to emphasize anything except for the call to action. Customers will not always know what abbreviations stand for, and using all caps to convey a message makes it difficult to read. It is also considered shouting in some cyber-circles.
To take your mobile marketing to the next level, promote your phone number. It sounds mundane to promote a telephone number when the mobile marketplace is chock full of location aware services and directions on demand. But, do not forget most mobile devices are phones. Get your phone number out in the open. Place it prominently on the home page of your optimized website. Just one click of that phone number gives them easy access to your company.
Design your mobile ads so that they are interactive and sharable. Many cell phone users have a natural affinity for sharing and some will ‘like’ your ad on Facebook or ‘tweet’ about it on twitter if the option is available. This can bring your ad to a whole new audience without you having to pay any extra money. Additionally, a lots of people like to comment of ads. If your ad campaign has lots of comments, it can significantly increase your company’s visibility in the marketplace.
As you have seen, mobile marketing is nowhere near as scary as it may appear at first. Just think of all of the benefits it has and all of the people it can take reach, along with all of the money it can help you earn in the long run.
