Mobile marketing is the next big thing in the marketing world. And it is not difficult to see why: while computers already are personal items displaying highly adaptable personal content, mobile phones are the real darlings of humans worldwide. Who doesn’t carry around their mobile at all times? By the end of this year the mobile penetration (that is the number of mobile phones in comparison to the total number of people) will exceed 100% in the Western world. This evidently also means great potential. However by far not all of these people will carry a smartphone such as an iPhone, an Android-based phone or a Windows 7 Phone. In fact currently more than 70% of users carry around their regular “dumb” phone with limited resolution and none or just little internet capabilities.
Similar to online marketing, mobile marketing consists of many different possibilities.
In what follows we will describe a few mobile marketing campaigns options:
1) Subscription based mass push marketing
These solutions are very similar to traditional marketing methods as direct mail or newsletters as they require the user to sign up for the customized messaging. Due to extremely short attention spans, creativity will gain you attention as well as goodwill. a. SMS Marketing
While SMS is compatible with all phones worldwide, SMS campaigns are easily perceived to be quite spammy. However with a little creativity, this often overlooked solution might be worthy of your attention The cost of SMS services can be as low as 0.01$ per sent SMS when buying in bulk.
b. MMS Marketing
Similar to SMS marketing but slightly more upscale is MMS marketing. An MMS message is a slightly more multimedial solution which is accessible for almost all mobile phones. MMS might be a good, relatively inexpensive solution to reach a wide array of audiences. MMS messages are evidently more expensive than SMS (usually double the rate of an SMS) but offer you as a marketeer a more advanced platform to show your message.
c. Mobile Applications
Designed for smartphone users, mobile applications immediately limit your target audience. Especially with the availability of several different Mobile Operating Systems, designing for each platform might be expensive. Mobile applications contain almost no limits at all but can be very expensive (upwards of 10 000$) to build.
2) Location based marketing
Location based services currently receive all the attention. People are very interested in combining their offline lives with their mobile connectivity. This offers great potential for any company that wished to play into this combination.
a. Check-in services
With the upcoming check-in services from such companies as Foursquare and Facebook, your retail locations might do something special for those smartphone owners. With both services you can offer your customers badges and coupons when they check in to your location. While check-in services are all the rage, checking in still has its limits (relatively few users which have smartphones and are using location based services), if your company has a young brand image it might be something to look into. Mobile Marketing Companies can help you optimize your campaign. Marketing through check-in services has been free (so far) when not taking into account the coupons you serve to your customers.
b. Bluetooth Marketing
An often forgotten form of location based mobile marketing is bluetooth marketing. When someones mobile phone has an active bluetooth connection it is possible to serve them customised messages. Bluetooth marketing however may be a great way to present some discounts in your retail shop or present a map, discounts or a guide on large event such as festivals.
3) Mobile internet ads
Another form of mobile marketing are the ads you can show when a smartphone user is connected to the internet. These ads are often similar to the “regular” online ads.
iAd is Apples own mobile ad platform for the iPhone and iPad. b) Google Mobile Ads
Even on the mobile phone Google is still incredibly important. Many users perform searches through Google or use such applications as Google Maps or Google Goggles. And with Android phones, Google Mobile Ads can offer you a very large selection of mobile advertising solutions.
As you can see, mobile marketing offers a wide arrange of flavors. There are plenty of ideas to start your mobile marketing campaign.