Contributed By:
Guest Writer
Author, Copywriter, and Marketing
Consultant
Source: Entrepreneur
Robert W. Bly explains
how you can develop big-picture marketing plans for pennies on the dollar with
his 12-step marketing plan. In this edited excerpt, Bly offers experienced tips
on creating and implementing mobile marketing tactics that work.
When you set about integrating mobile into
your marketing plan, you should begin with the basics: the “who, what, and how”
of your mobile strategy. And you do that by getting the answers to these
questions:
·
Who are your customers
and who are you trying to reach?
·
Who will want to engage
with your mobile content?
·
What tasks and needs does
your audience have?
·
What mobile channels will
you use?
·
What tone or angle will
you use to inspire your audience to get involved?
·
Why do your customers
need information from you in a timely manner?
·
How will your target
audience access your mobile content (which type of handheld device will they
use)? How will they use your content in their daily lives?
·
How will you make your
mobile content sticky and engaging?
·
How will you
cross-pollinate between the selected channels?
·
How will you create
sharing opportunities?
·
How will you fuel the
momentum of your mobile campaign?
Of course, you’ll also want to clearly
define your mobile marketing goals. Do you want to increase the number of
newsletter sign-ups, generate leads, or make sales? When you set a goal,
remember to make sure it’s SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Let’s get started by
taking a closer look at available mobile channels.
Mobile websites
Some business owners create a subdomain set
up specifically for mobile phones. Then if a mobile user types
www.theirdomain.com into a smartphone, the site automatically determines the
inquiry source and automatically redirects them to a mobile-friendly subdomain.
The trick is to create a mobile site that loads quickly and provides a simple,
streamlined experience. Many other business owners use web hosting companies,
which offer low cost, semi-automatic cookie-cutter mobile sites.
SMS and MMS messaging
If you doubt the value of SMS text message
marketing, you should ponder this statistic: 95 percent of your customers who
have opted into your text messaging program open (and read) your mobile messages
within three minutes of receiving it. Now that’s effective.
But there are two myths surrounding SMS and
MMS message marketing that purport it to be both complicated and hampered by
regulation, but the truth is these regulations serve the marketer as well as
the consumer, protecting the latter from spammy marketing, and protecting
marketers from spam-related accusations. First and foremost is the fact the
two are both permission-based, which means you should always be completely
transparent about your text marketing program, the need for full disclosure,
and to always get everything in writing.
Mobile apps
There are countless mobile apps designed to
serve up informative tips and educational snippets, help you to track your
caloric intake, exercise milestones, guide you in meditation practice, or
simply entertain you with engaging games -- yet consumers are always looking
for more, and better, apps.
What this means to marketers is simple: You
can boost brand awareness and consumer affinity with apps, but you must have a
thorough understanding of your audience so you can provide them with an app
that's functional (such as a calculator) or entertaining (like a video, game,
or music), or provide some sort of social connectedness (such as an app for a
user community). You may want to consider offering a free version of your app
and let users decide if they're willing invest in a premium version with more
features and content. This is the model used by Rovio Entertainment when they
began marketing the Angry
Birds game. They offered a free version, while
paid subscribers were given access to more challenging levels and other free
add-ons.
Mobile coupons
A growing number of businesses, like
Target, Sephora, Bath and Body Works, and Olive Garden deliver coupons via
mobile devices in an effort to appeal to consumers, many of whom would never
think of clipping or carrying coupons. To redeem a mobile coupon, all users
need to do is show the coupon bar code to the cashier, who will scan it like a
regular coupon. Location-based shopping coupons using mobile devices are also
gaining popularity.
Mobile campaigns and ads
Mobile marketing presents a distinctly
unique way to create interactive dialogues with customers. But it requires
matching the creative to a smaller screen size; designing messages that are
short, instantly understood, and effective; and creating a call-to-action with
a minimal number of steps.
Here’s a fact worth remembering: Research
indicates that mobile ads perform about five times better than
internet ads. (The most common mobile ads are simple text links and display
adds that are sold based on cost per clicks, cost per acquisition, and cost per
thousand.)
Mobile marketing is not about your
convenience. The benefits of receiving the information or discount via a mobile
device must be valuable enough to the recipient. It has to make sense to the
recipient as a benefit and not seen as an intrusion. So make offers that are
in-tune with the recipient’s buying habits. You have to sync your messaging
with your customers’ purchase history or favorites.
If you're sophisticated enough to delve
into mobile advertising, you should have access to a consumer’s buying records
to know what the individual needs and wants. Hey, you can go so far as to ask
your customers what they want using Twitter, then show them you listened by
making those same offers. This is about creating a dialogue, rather than a
monologue. You really need to be strategic about what content you send out
using mobile media. A major consideration when establishing a mobile marketing
strategy involves identifying the benefits to the consumer, then integrating
the message in your overall marketing campaign so you can communicate those
benefits through all other marketing and social media channels.
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