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Marketing by Mobile

Guest post by: Terri Levine

Article Overview: Think your mobile phone is only good for making calls, and sending and receiving emails and text messages? Think again. Today's mobile is the modern marketer's new "toy" when it comes to getting their message out to their customers.

Marketing by Mobile

Some people love their mobile phones, and so mobile marketing is something they can and do embrace, while for others it is an evil necessity of modern day living. Whether you love it or loath it, mobile marketing is in for the long haul and if you are in business, it provides a new method of marketing that is catching on and you can't afford to ignore.

The first rule of marketing is to place your message where your target market is going to see it, where it is going to receive the most views. Where is most people's attention glued these days? To their iPhones and Smartphones and iPads and Tablets. Most people spend hours checking their emails, twittering, and chatting on Facebook, whether they are on the train, driving the car, queuing up for lunch, or waiting at the airport. How many times do you receive a business email that has been sent from a Blackberry?

Modern technology has opened up a whole new level of freedom for business people who are no longer chained to the phone and computer on their desk, and enables marketers to reach their customers regardless of where they are, because they get them where their attention is focused - on their mobile or iPad. So here are some quick tips to help you maximize your mobile marketing potential.

People use their mobiles not only for calls, email and text messaging. For many, their mobile is their GPS helping them navigate by car or foot to various venues, stores and addresses. They also use them for other internet searches. You can attract these mobile users to your business by offering directions and maps on your website and other information they might find valuable and give them reason to visit your site using their mobile.

It's common these days to provide sign up links on websites and blogs for people to join your mobile mailing list. You may also have seen numbers provided for you to text from your mobile that will sign you up. Many popular social network sites offer this. Ensure the action required to sign up is as simple and user friendly as possible. Make it easy for them to subscribe without the necessity of elaborate steps and complicated links, and when you send email marketing messages, also think of the customer's time and money.

A popular method of reaching your customers is by text messaging (SMS). You simply ask them to opt-in to your text messaging list and keep them up to date with your services by text. This is also an excellent way to remind customers of their appointments so they don't forget. You can also obtain a special phone number and an opt in keyword for your customers to use from a text messaging provider, for example, motomessage.com. Research for the best deal.

Similar to the text message is the "multi-media message" (MMS). The difference between these and text messages (SMS) is you can include sound and pictures. (Bit like the difference between plain text and html for emails.) MMS makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience and can make your message stand out. Of course, these are also larger messages which cost more to send and are not as popular for that reason.

You can also advertise your business with a banner or link that appears on the mobile phone when customers do a search. Check with agencies that specialize in mobile marketing for costs and details. Some services and products are more conducive than others to mobile phone advertising, such as online and mobile-friendly games, downloading music, and business and fun applications. If you do have games or applications, you can include your marketing message in the game or application so the customer will always be reminded of you.

You can also look at advertising your business on those sites that people like to access most with their mobile phones, so even though your business isn't marketed by appearing as an option on their phone when they search, if they go to a popular external site, such as a blog, or Facebook, you can place an ad there where they will see it.

Be creative. Customers respond well to fun competitions. Some businesses ask customers to take a photo of themselves using their product and send it in for a prize. You can offer prizes, discounts, or product samples to entice people to join your list. The best prizes are downloadable applications or discounts the next time they visit your store, because you don't have to pay for physical postage.

People will search your service out when they are in need of it and that is when you need to be easily found and mobile phone-friendly. You don't have to be aggressive and pushy... just ready. Finally, remember that people are bombarded with marketing messages - make sure you aren't being a nuisance and turning your customers away. Don't just spam them with marketing messages all the time - offer useful information, freebies, etc. that make them want to keep receiving your messages.

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Article Tags: cell phone, marketing, mobile marketing, mobile phone, using mobile cell phones to market



Related Forum Posts
Re: The Mobile Marketing - Mobile Marketing involves communicating with the consumer via cellular (or mobile) device, either to send a simple marketing message, to introduce them to a new audience participation-based campaign or to allow them to visit a mobile website. Some of the tools of the trade and a few of the concepts that will be featured in this Mobile Marketing 101 series are: Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Bluetooth, Wireless and Infrared Mobile Internet and Social Media Mobile Applications Mobile connectivity not only enables people to connect to the Internet via a cellular telephone, PDA or other gadget, but also consolidates the different communication channels in a simple, yet effective, medium. Cheaper than traditional means for both the consumer and the marketer - and easy enough for almost any age group to understand and engage with - Mobile Marketing really is a streamlined version of traditional eMarketing.
Re: What is your Business? - We are running a Online Marketing Firm and we have some good clients to which we are offering a complete Digital Marketing strategy like Search, Mobile Marketing, Branding and Design. I think in Online Marketing company online presence can be a wining factor for the success of the company.
Re: The Mobile Marketing - Mobile Marketing is on pace and it'll engage a reputed image soon. Online shopping is based on PCs and Laptops at the present time but soon it will also be popular for mobile phones.
Re: Mobile Marketing - Top 10 trends in the mobile application in 2012 What is most interesting to us mobile marketers is what lands at # 2 and # 3 spots on his list. "Mobile Search", "location-based services," and also, the place n. # 8 is our favorite of my "mobile advertising." last round after this morning's location based on 1020 funding Placecast poster supports the thesis that when it comes to phones, people expect to be able to discover things around them. That makes sense - after all, what good is a mobile device if you can not access the information you need right now? Gartner reports that location services will be "one of the most disturbing in the coming years." Gartner predicts that the LBS user base of 96 million global growth in 2009 to more than 526 million by 2012. "His value to the user high is the result of its ability to meet a variety of needs, ranging from productivity and fullfillment target social networking and entertainment." Mobile Search, which Gartner says is a fundamental purpose "to drive sales and marketing opportunities in the mobile phone," now just need the user experience. Once "the industry improves the user experience of mobile search to get people back again," Gartner predicts it will be the third most popular application in 2012. Getting to # 8, mobile advertising is no joke. Total spending on mobile advertising in 2008 was $ 530.2 million, which Gartner expects to grow to $ 7.5 billion in 2012. "Mobile advertising is an important way to monetize the mobile Internet content, applications and offering free services to end users. The mobile channel will be used as part of the largest advertising campaigns in various media, including television, radio, print and outdoor, "says Gartner. Here's the full top 10 types of future mobile applications, according to Gartner: 1. Money transfer 2. Location Based Services 3. Mobile Search 4. Mobile Browsing 5. Mobile health monitoring 6. Mobile Payment 7. Near field communication services 8. Mobile Advertising 9. Mobile Instant Messaging
Re: Mobile Marketing - No doubt on this.Mobile marketing seems to be a good business now although very few amount of people have knowledge about this.


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