Mobile Marketing: What's The Big Deal?

You may have heard the term mobile marketing being thrown around a lot recently. It's becoming not just a buzz term, but a crucial part of any good marketing plan.Wikipedia says mobile marketing is "marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a smart phone. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services and ideas."

One way that mobile marketing is different from traditional marketing is in that it is a two way street; you no longer just broadcast your message, you need to interact with consumers, respond and build a relationship with them.This is where social media marketing comes in to play even more than the above mobile marketing examples. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media outlets allow consumers to interact with companies in real time. 

Another important thing to keep in mind with mobile marketing is that your website MUST be optimized for mobile devices. If consumers can't easily read and navigate your website on their mobile device, they'll just go someplace else.

There are several different tools in mobile marketing, including but not limited to:

• SMS or Short Message Marketing - sending a message directly to a persons cell phone or mobile device. The important thing to remember here is that you need to have the consumers trust in order to have them "opt in" to receive your messages. You also need to give them an option to "opt out" of receiving your messages. Redbox utilized a SMS marketing strategy by offering discounts to consumers who texted DEALS to 727272. They rewarded their loyal "text club" and reached new customers. This was extremely successful, generating over 1.5 million texts from 400,000 unique users including more than 200,000 new subscribers. 

• QR Codes - Quick Response Barcodes - A marketer can place a QR Code on a brochure or in an ad, and consumers scan the code for more information. This can quickly take the consumer to a webpage or Youtube video relative to the business.

• Location Based Services -  Deliver messages to mobile device users based on their location (via GPS technology).(1) Coors Light utilized location based marketing in their banner ads, when consumers would click on their banner ad, they would land on a branded page with a map of locations near them serving Coors Light products. Consumers can then click through to find directions and contact information for those locations. By using location, Coors Light targeted consumers at a local level to drive foot traffic, while also keeping their brand highly visible. 
This allows real-time communication, consumers can share experiences, businesses can offer rewards and publicize their location. (2)
Here's a good article on whether location based marketing is dying. Applications like FourSquare allow users to "check in", post their locations, and earn rewards.This chart from MediaBistro shows that in 2014 digital marketing is getting 25% of the marketing budget. While 75% of those surveyed plan to spend more on mobile marketing in the future, social marketing will also increase - according to this survey social marketing budgets will double in the next 5 years.


• In Game Mobile Marketing - In May 2006, mobile games were downloaded at a rate of five million per month, and of the 16 million unique players, 35 percent were in the 18-34 male demographic (much sought after by advertisers). This number has increased significantly since then, with the demographic also expanding to include women in their 30s and 40s. Games are a great way to integrate mobile in advertising because they fill the whole screen and don't allow for competing ads at the same time. Gaming is also a leisure time activity when users are more receptive to marketing messages and it's cost-effective. (3)

• Push Notifications - Once users have downloaded your app, sending push notifications can allow your brand to initiate and maintain a conversation with the customer, letting them know about specials, etc. This will motivate them to stay engaged with your brand.(4)

• App Based Marketing - Companies develop their own application. Great for knowing your demographic, could be expensive to develop. It's tricky, because it could flop after a large initial investment.

• MMS or Multimedia Mobile Service - similar to SMS, this allows you to send and receive images, text, audio and video with consumers.

Pros and cons of mobile marketing: (5)

Pros:
• More people in the world own a cell phone than a toothbrush. • Your audience will have their mobile device by their side constantly.• Creating content is relatively inexpensive, and more easily changed than traditional marketing.• Mobile marketing has massive viral potential (it's easily shared).• Marketers can receive feedback instantly, and use that to build relationships with consumers.• Most mobile marketing campaigns can be easily integrated into current campaigns.
Cons:
• If ad campaigns are not relevant to audiences, they can back fire. Consumers don't want to be interrupted with "advertisements" they dislike.• A good marketing campaign will take some time and resources, you need to be ready to commit to that. (Although it is still relatively cheaper than traditional media. You need to realize you can't just have a Facebook page and call it a marketing plan. You need to use the avenues most suited to your target audience, and it takes time to build relationships with consumers.)

All areas of media marketing are growing and changing rapidly. This article on Forbes titled "The State of Mobile Marketing" reminds us the most important word every marketer needs to remember is "relevance". Consumers are not going to opt in to receive messages from your company unless it's relevant to them. Consumers love a deal and love to be heard, remember this to make the most of your mobile marketing strategy.

References:  
(1) Harp Social
(2) Smallbusiness.chron
(3) iMedia Connection(4) MarketingLand.com
(5) ramarketing