Did you know there are now more mobile phones in the UK than there are people? Mobiles have become heavily engrained into everyday life and there are few people who don’t use them on a regular basis.
Text messaging has been the runaway success of the mobile phone and increasingly people are now using their devices for more diverse communication such as picture sharing, browsing and downloading from the Internet, video calls and watching TV. The potential reach and scope of mobile marketing is astonishing, but at the moment most companies are still only dipping their toes into this potential gold mine.
So let's look at the basics...
1. Integrate
Mobile marketing is not a standalone tool…yet. The key to successful mobile marketing at the moment is integration, using mobile media alongside other elements to spark further interest. Mobile marketing can offer the perfect facility to drive consumer interest beyond passive viewing, into interacting with the brand.
2. Make it worthwhile
In some ways mobile marketing can be a lot like email: you are communicating on a very personal level. This makes it important that your marketing message has enough value to the individual receiving it for it to rise above spam or general annoyance. The way to ensure people are willing to allow brands into their personal space is to provide something truly entertaining or useful to them. Good examples would be: an airline offering flight time alerts, a TV program offering up to the minute video clips or a nightclub giving out priority entry codes to skip the queue.
3. Get your content right
While mobile marketing works best as part of an integrated plan, you must always remember that it is a unique media channel. Content that works in print advertising or in email is unlikely to convert well to mobile without some work. Content for mobiles must be uniquely developed with the medium in mind.
4. Keep it simple
Historically, research has shown that most people use very few of the features on their mobile handsets. Unless you are targeting young text savvy teens, then a complicated mobile campaign is probably not a wise idea; like any marketing you want to get your message across to the widest possible audience.
5. Sort out your lists
With push mobile marketing, like email, your campaign is only ever as good as your list of opt –in subscribers. Try incentivising your initial communication to get people to subscribe to further messages. And remember; always ensure that you only send messages to people who have opted-in to receiving them.
6. Keep up to date with technology
The pace of change in mobile technology is fast and it can be hard to keep up sometimes. Many of the latest innovations involve increased convergence onto mobile devices, with many now sporting Internet browsing and video capabilities. While these new technologies have yet to become as popular as SMS; their potential in terms of creating marketing opportunities are endless. Stay up to date with technology and you won’t get left behind your competitors.
source:refreshmedia
