What is unique about the copy an image is used in developing a social media campaign relative to other forms of IMC?

With so many of us glued to our smartphones, mobile marketing can be a great call for your business. But how do you go about it?

In this guide, we’ll talk through the ins and outs of mobile marketing — so your audience can connect with your brand at the tap of a button. 

In this mobile marketing guide, you’ll discover:

• What is mobile marketing?
• How does mobile marketing work?
• Mobile marketing vs traditional marketing
• Types of mobile marketing strategies
• Advantages and disadvantages of mobile marketing
• Common problems mobile marketing can solve
• Return on investment (ROI) of a successful mobile marketing program
• Components of mobile marketing
• How to launch a mobile marketing campaign
• Frequently asked questions

What is mobile marketing?

Mobile marketing is a multi-channel, digital marketing strategy aimed at reaching a target audience through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, via websites, email, SMS and MMS, social media and apps.

In recent years, customers have started to shift their attention (and dollars) to mobile. Because of this, marketers are doing the same in order to create true omnichannel engagement. As technology becomes more fragmented, so does marketing. And in order to earn and maintain the attention of potential buyers, content must be strategic and highly personalized.

Pro Tip: Be relevant and useful and ensure that your message hits your target in the bullseye.

How does mobile marketing work?

When it comes to mobile marketing, strategic, personalized content means thinking about different devices in mind and utilizing SMS/MMS marketing and mobile apps.

Mobile marketing is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to building out any short-term or long-term marketing plan.

There’s a mobile marketing channel to reach every part of your audience where they’re most comfortable, including:

•  email
• content marketing
• social media marketing
• pay-per-click (PPC)
• search engine optimization (SEO)

For mobile marketing to be effective, you need to curate a cohesive experience that customers expect — and that can be a real challenge as you work to acquire, engage and retain users across a multitude of platforms. 

Mobile marketing can do wonders for driving brand value and demand for your products or services by leveraging mobile devices to connect with more consumers in real time at any point in the customer lifecycle.

Mobile is also growing steadily. According to eMarketer, mobile versus desktop usage stats in the United States in 2018 show that the mobile-only audience will grow to 55.7 million (nearly 19%) by 2022, and Adweek estimates that 79% of smartphone users have their phones on or near them all but two hours a day.

Today, there are more mobile devices in the world (8.7 billion) than people (7.1 billion), due largely in part to our voracious appetite for new technology. UN data analysts have found that in the US, 71.5% of citizens over the age of 13 have a smartphone, and 66.5% have smartphones globally. To harness the growing power of mobile marketing, you must focus on creating a seamless experience that your audience expects.

Pro Tip: Ensure whatever message you're sending is only for mobile customers and let them know. Your customers will feel uniquely appreciated and more likely to act on your mobile messages in the future.

Mobile marketing vs traditional marketing.

Mobile marketing has unique differences from traditional marketing, but as this quote suggests, using the techniques in tandem leads to the greatest rewards.

“For me, the future of mobile marketing lies in connecting the dots between online and offline media. Mobile is such a powerful tool when used in conjunction with other, more traditional, media and should be seen as the glue that binds everything together.”

— Mike Reynolds, Senior Mobile Executive, International Advertising Bureau.

Traditional marketing may be more familiar to older demographics, and its tangibility still appeals to customers for high-end or expensive products — in the automobile industry for example. But it is generally more expensive to buy TV commercial airtime and difficult to track conversion rates than it is through mobile.

Unlike traditional marketing, mobile marketing leverages the omnipresence of mobile devices in users’ pockets and handbags. As a result, location-based services can collect customer data and then offer promotions based on their proximity to a store or a place frequently visited by the consumer.

These marketing campaigns can be more targeted and specific to the individual user, and should, therefore, be more effective for the company doing the marketing. One example could be a marketing campaign that sends book recommendations or price coupons to a customer any time they come within half a mile of particular book shop.

Mobile marketing can reach customers anywhere, any time — on public transport, at work, in their homes, even in their beds. While it’s still important as part of an integrated marketing strategy, traditional marketing is waning, and mobile marketing should move to the vanguard of a company’s marketing efforts.

Pro Tip: Use short, attention-grabbing copy on small screens. Leverage video or a carousel of pictures attracts attention usually better than most still photos.

10 types of mobile marketing strategies.

Unique marketing options on mobile include the following:

• App-based marketing. Use a marketing funnel to persuade potential customers to acquire your app, then activate it and retain it. A good onboarding flow will encourage users to discover the functionality of their app promptly.
• Social media marketing. Drive traffic with organic and paid ads that appear on mobile social feeds. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram often boast the largest user bases.
• Location-based marketing. Mobile marketers can create ads that appear on mobile devices based on a user’s location. For example, some advertisers may only want mobile ads to appear when users are within a one-mile radius of their business.
• Mobile search ads. Search engines often offer specific ad types built for mobile. These can create unique benefits to offer an improved user experience, such as click-to-call functions or instant directions.
• SMS. Text a user’s phone number with specific offers or notifications of upcoming deals.
• QR codes. A cost-effective way to leverage mobile marketing to drive customer engagement and retention. With QR codes you can view a website or landing page, a social media profile, dial a phone number, send an email or view a special offer.
• In-game. Game players will see ads as pop-ups or full screens.
• Voice marketing. Automated phone calls to customer mobiles.
• Mobile wallets. Offers can be sent to apps such as Apple’s Wallet, meaning customers don’t have to worry about printing them off, and making it more likely they will be used.
• Augmented reality. Lots of potential, although still underused by many firms. Gucci, for example, allows you to use its app to overlay a pair of new shoes on to your own feet.

Advantages and disadvantages of mobile marketing.

Pro Tip: When are you messaging your customers? Think about what you are selling meet your customers where they are when they need you.

Common problems mobile marketing can solve.

Mobile marketing is unique in that it reaches people in real time right where they are. Additionally, more and more sales are being initiated from mobile, so it’s a vital part of any marketing strategy.

Learn more about how to best set up and solve your mobile marketing metrics with our worksheet, “Set Your Mobile Marketing Goals.”

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Return on investment (ROI) of a successful mobile marketing program.

With buyers using mobile more and more frequently to research future purchases, a proper mobile marketing strategy can lead to a direct increase in revenue.

• Mobile marketing reaches buyers that are researching products. More and more, mobile users are shopping. Google’s research shows that comparison searches using “best” have increased by 80% in the last two years. 
• Mobile marketing is growing. Google has found that about 50% of B2B queries today are made on smartphones. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) expects that figure to grow to 70% by 2020. 
• Mobile marketing is part of most sales. More than 60% of B2B buyers report that mobile played a significant role in a recent purchase (BCG, 2017) 

Pro Tip: Use the power of push—the perfect call to action when used in proximity marketing campaigns. But make sure your message targets your specific customer segment.

Learn more about how to maximize mobile marketing as part of your cross-channel strategy in our Definitive Guide to Mobile Marketing.

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Components of mobile marketing in digital marketing

Mobile marketing goes far beyond text messaging and mobile apps. To have a cohesive marketing experience, you must consider responsive, mobile-friendly design across the board.

• Websites. Mobile-friendly content fits on the screen without side-to-side scrolling or zooming, it loads quickly, and it’s free of mobile-specific errors. The most important reason to maintain a mobile-friendly site is to create a consistent and engaging user experience (UX). Mobile UX has a dramatic effect on every stage of the buying cycle. 
• SMS and MMS marketing messages. SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia message service) messaging are two methods you can use to send content direct to customers, but it’s important to use these channels wisely. Gain knowledge of the best techniques to get your messaging to your customer fast and go over the cardinal rules for an effective campaign, whether it be promos, videos, product alerts or reminders. 
• Advertising and landing pages. According to Litmus, 43% of email is opened on mobile platforms. It’s therefore imperative that your emails employ responsive design — a strategy that automatically formats webpage content for optimal viewing on any device. And don’t forget about landing pages. If your email is mobile friendly, but the clickthrough goes to a landing page that isn’t optimized for mobile, that visitor will likely become frustrated and click away.
• Apps. With the right strategy and road map, mobile apps can provide an opportunity to drive profound engagement with your customers. Explore the different types of apps — productivity, commerce, retained engagement, and mixed-use — and whether or not a mobile app is the right move to support your acquisition, engagement, or conversion business goals. 
• MarTech. 25% of mobile apps are only used once. With most consumers having 50 to 100 apps on their phones, how can you ensure that your company's mobile app stands out from the competition? Mobile app developers face many unique marketing challenges, including the need to drive ongoing app downloads, installs, and usability improvements. Companies with mobile apps that have used marketing automation can better drive app downloads, user retention, engagement and monetization.

Pro Tip: Set yourself apart from the crowd by crafting personas or mascots so your voice isn’t lost in the din of a crowded marketplace.

Learn more about how mobile marketing contributes to the bottom line in our ebook, "Best Practices for Mobile Marketing: How to Acquire, Engage, and Retain Users.”

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How to launch a mobile marketing campaign.

Mobile marketing is both a short-term and a long-term strategy, and to create a successful program, there are certain steps you’ll need to follow.

Step 1: Create mobile buyer personas.

Understanding your audience is the first step to any marketing strategy, and buyer personas are a valuable tool to aid in that understanding. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your various types of customers.

Create a profile including key audience details like:

• Background
• Job description
• Main sources of information
• Goals
• Challenges
• Preferred type of content
• Role in the purchase process

It is easier to determine a channel and voice for your marketing messages when you have a clear picture of your target audience. Observe mobile habits, utilize A/B testing, and you’ll build out useful buyer personas for mobile.

Step 2: Create goals.

You’ll need to determine your goals and create a plan. Our guide will help you understand customer lifecycles and develop personas, build your marketing calendar and marketing automation toolkit, and define your mobile marketing goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) across all channels.

Determine main objectives, key audiences and how you’re developing cross-channel engagement so you can analyze how the channels you’re currently using can be included in your mobile marketing strategy. 

Step 3: Establish KPIs.

Just like your other marketing efforts, mobile marketing needs to be tested and optimized. Determine which realistic, measurable KPIs define your mobile campaign’s success. 

• Engagement. Provide mobile-friendly content for potential customers who are searching for information about your industry or product. Make sure your website is mobile-responsive to improve mobile SEO.  
• Acquisition. Make sure lead nurturing emails are mobile friendly with clear calls-to-action. Buttons in emails should be near the top of the message and be big enough to easily tap in order to facilitate click throughs. Then make it as easy as possible for someone to fill out a form on your mobile-optimized landing page.  
• Customer service. In a connected, social marketplace, customer service is very much a marketing opportunity. Allow your customers to easily reach you through any platform they want, including simple click-to-call buttons for smartphone users.

Step 4: Monitor mobile metrics.

Google Analytics can help monitor mobile usage of your site.  Mobile behavior data reveals how well your mobile content engages your audience and conversion data indicates whether or not some of your key landing pages still need to be optimized for mobile browsing.

Dashboard tools can show you the quantity and quality of traffic, page view metrics, bounce rates, and more. 

Learn more about how to get mobile marketing working for you in our guide, Creating Your Mobile Marketing Strategy. 

Frequently asked questions about mobile marketing.

What is a mobile marketing example?

An example of mobile marketing could be advertising or promotions sent directly to a smartphone. These often utilize location targeting, push notifications and more to tailor messages to a specific user.

How do I optimize messaging for mobile marketing?

Be short and to the point, and use effective video or a carousel of images. Most people on a mobile phone do not want to scroll through countless pages of text. It is also good to use larger fonts that are readable on a mobile device.

Is mobile marketing effective?

There are around five billion mobile phone users across the globe. We carry these devices with us everywhere – using them for browsing, gaming, messaging and more. If you create campaigns that engage your audience, mobile marketing can be highly effective.

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