Slaying the Mobile Monster - How do you incorporate a mobile
strategy into your overall communications plan?
Just when you thought you were getting the hang of email
marketing, website development, and social media smartphones come along.
With over 4.55 billion people worldwide to use a mobile
phone in 2014 (eMarketer) mobile marketing is a rapidly growing monster that
has still yet to be slayed.
Smartphones are dropping in price, data plans are becoming
more affordable, and Wi-Fi is the new hot attraction to bring customers into
your location are all attributing to the growing use of mobile devices.
Mobile marketing opens up an entirely new arena to your
marketing plan. Society is attached to the hip to their mobile phones,
literally – I mean have you seen those side clips? Very trendy J And they are not
letting go anytime soon. We have become so attached to being accessible and
available that we will leave our wallets, keys, laptops, kids, spouses, etc. at
home but we will never forget our phone.
Could you imagine ever being tethered to the wall again? What
would life be like if we had to stay in one place while talking on the phone or
always had to have our computers plugged into an outlet? Now we are free to
travel around as we want and still be connected to everyone around us. You no
longer have to wait to be connected. And everything is instant. So why shouldn’t
your marketing plan be the same way?!
Going mobile is the next step in staying connected. We have
now entered an era of instant marketing. You’re consumers want to buy and they
want to buy now. They want it shipped directly to their doorstep. Marketing is
no longer you feeding information to you consumer and your consumer digesting
it. Consumers are now interactive and communicating back with you. Being mobile
has opened up huge opportunities to get in front of not only your old customers
but also has given you an opportunity to find new consumers.
Why go mobile?
Congratulations you have a website! But now what? Well one
half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices. Mobile is not just
for the big guns but for the mom and pop stores as well.
If you are not accessible via mobile phones you are missing
your consumers and basically handing them to your competitor.
Mobile marketing expands outside of the traditional advertisement
marketing. Companies are getting smarter about the way they reach their target
audience.
Take Facebook, the pioneer of social media, into
consideration. Every company, celebrity, musician, non-profit, local
organization has a Facebook page. They want to easily reach their consumers
where they are. Putting their message in their consumers face. Companies no
longer have to wait for their consumer to find them, they can now find their
consumer. Facebook even offers paid advertisement where companies can
geographically or demographically target a person just by the information on
their profile. You really didn’t think it was coincidental that you recently
became engaged and you are now seeing ads for wedding photographers. Or now
Match.com ads are popping up everywhere you turn on Facebook after changing
your relationship status to single. No – these companies are demographically
targeting you based on your profile.
Look at Instagram. You swore you didn’t follow Pottery Barn
but they are showing up in your Instagram feed. Well you aren’t losing your
mind, you didn’t follow them, but Pottery Barn paid to play. So they bought a
sponsored ad space and you are receiving their ads because you follow your
favorite DIY star on Instagram.
Pinterest is following suite as well. They are now suggesting
products to you based on the people you follow and the types of pins you have
on Pinterest. Just the other day I started receiving a lot of eclectic outfit
choices on Pinterest in my feed that were suggested to me. I started noticing a
pattern in the clothing line and realized all the pins were from Anthropology.
So curiosity got the best of me and I went back and looked over some of my most
recent Pins - they all happen to be clothing choices as I was doing a little spring
shopping.
Have you ever purchased Starbucks using the Starbucks app?
This has to be the best use of mobile marketing I have seen yet. You can upload
money to a virtual Starbuck gift card and pay with your smart phone. For every
purchase you make you receive a star. After so many stars you begin to receive
freebies which could include free drinks, discounts, or yummy treats. First of
all this is genius! If you are competitive like me you see your stars start to
grow and you just want to keep buying Starbucks to gain more stars. It becomes
like a game which in return bring more revenue to Starbucks. Secondly,
Starbucks records all of your buying history making it easier for them to
target your specific interest and to personally market to you as a consumer. No
more getting coupons you will never use! So Starbucks may lose a dollar in
overall sales on your purchase but they made $4 on you because you bought
Starbucks that you may not have done otherwise. Way to again stay ahead of the
trend Starbucks while still providing an easy to use and convenient purchasing
tool. Bravo!!
And we can’t forget the old trusty mobile marketing tricks.
While people caught on to the SMS texting ploy it still is a
popular tool used to send promos out to consumers. SMS texting is an easy way
to directly reach your consumer without being abrasive. Consumer can choose to
ignore the message but you still planted the seed for a future purchase and
stayed relevant to the consumer.
Email marketing is still just as prominent as ever. Now
consumers have email that comes directly to their phones. You can send out
promotions and coupons and consumers can access them while in your store and
make purchase. Email is a great way to encourage foot traffic to your brick and
mortar store. Or to send a consumer directly to an item to purchase on the web
or mobile device. It is always important to ensure that your email message is
easy to use and mobile friendly. Nothing kills a conversion like a non-mobile
friendly message.
Mobile is here to stay! And it is time to start making
mobile marketing a permanent fixture in your marketing plan. As they say in Talladega
Nights:
So start your mobile marketing campaign and slay the mobile monster!
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