What is Mobile Marketing?

Watch them in queues:

Waiting to order coffee, paying for shopping, playing with their children in the park, sitting on public transport, or watching TV. Is Mobile Marketing Important? In 2015 Google rolled out their ranking algorithm, dubbed Mobilegeddon, which favours sites that are mobile friendly.  Also in 2015, more than 50% of Google searches were done using mobile phones.  

Many of these searches include an element of urgency:  

I need to get information whilst I am on the go. Mobile does not just mean smartphones, although it is estimated there will be 2 billion of them in use this year.  It means your phone, your tablet, your car, and what you wear.  And smartwatches are tipped to be the mobile device of the imminent future.

So now we know how important mobile is, we can focus on three things:

- What is it
- Where is it going
- What can we do about it?

1. So, what is Mobile Marketing?
   
   Let’s start with what is familiar:
   
   Internet marketing. This includes websites, e-commerce and blogs. The buzzwords are Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). We’re talking about social media campaigns and content marketing; banner advertising and pay-per-click campaigns (PPC). It’s all about making sure that your customer can find you, and that you can learn about your customer. And all this in real time. So what is mobile marketing? 
   
   It is a way of instantly connecting with consumers with mobile devices: smartphones, tablets and other handheld devices. It is about creating targeted campaigns to specific audiences based on past purchase behaviour. It provides a cost-efficient means of delivering messages to specific customers directly to their inbox. It makes possible geo-location insights, helping you to connect to a customer when they are physically near to a business, or searching for a particular product on their mobile device.
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2. Where is Mobile Marketing Going?
   
   Wearables are predicted to be the next big thing in mobile technology. This could mean your watch, your accessories, and the things that you wear. And this is expected to provide marketers with intimate data about their consumer base. Mobile video advertising is expected to explode. Advertisers are beginning to focus on creating short videos for popular sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Vine.
   
   Apps launched by brands will begin to focus on integrating your lifestyle rather than providing single features:
   
   Think of a fitness app that tracks your exercise and what you eat; considers the weather report to advise when the best time would be to exercise; integrates with your schedule so that you can exercise between appointments; and alerts you when to collect your children. Social is set to translate into commercial. Traditionally social media has been used to provide information to customers and to influence their shopping choices. Apps such as Pinterest with their “Buyable Pins” and Instagram with their “Shop Now” are leading the way into fully-fledged e-commerce capability.

3. How should YOU use Mobile Marketing? 
   
   Make sure that you have a proper mobile presence. If your customer cannot find you or your site is too slow, they will go somewhere else. To do so, make sure your website is designed so that it can conform to the requirements of a mobile site.
   
   You can check this here:
   
   Mobile Friendly Test. Focus on your customer and what they are looking for, and let that inform the channel you are using. 
   
   You do not have to guess what it is your customer wants:
   
   Ask them what they want. Have a mobile marketing strategy that considers a number of channels. It can include an app that enables you to engage with your customer. If you cannot create your own app, there are a number you could use. Take Instagram, for example. This operates almost exclusively as a mobile application.  It will enable you to engage with your customer, build an online presence, and include your customer in your story. Use cost-effective channels such as SMS text that allows you to send timeous and specific messages directly to your customer. It could be for a specific promotion or event. It pays to remember the birthdays and special occasions of your clients. Explore geo-based applications that enable you to provide your customer with what they are looking for. You can include push notifications that alert customers to your offering when they are in your vicinity.

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Would you have predicted the pivotal role that mobile devices now play in our lives? In the same way, we can only guess how the digital landscape will look in the future. In the meantime, make sure you are poised to take advantage of these opportunities as they arise. Get in touch with Online Marketing Guys for more details on how to perfect your mobile strategy.