Did you know that 6 out of 7 people have mobile phones? Phones are everywhere. Mobile phones have been used more often to access social media accounts rather than laptops and desktops. 

According to data, Americans spent a total of 225.4 billion minutes on the social media marketing app. 

This includes Facebook apps and other apps and websites. On Twitter, the total number of minutes is 18.4 billion. 

What is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile marketing refers to the set of behaviors that empower organizations to send and receive messages. It lets both parties interact with their audience in a timely way through any mobile gadget or network. Many companies are capitalizing on mobile marketing in their strategies as many people turn to their phones for information, products, and services. Mobile marketing isn’t merely about using SMS to engage with the audience. It considers context, timing, location, and mood to cater to their needs and offers an easy touchpoint that encourages conversion.

Mobile marketing also varies according to the economic setting of your country or place. For example, in developed countries, smartphones help deliver better experiences using the web or applications. Meanwhile, in the developing world, many phones are still based on text. WAP browsers are crude, and the most used services include radio, USSD, and SMS. The hierarchy of needs from most basic to highest in terms of mobile use is:

  • Basic communication
  • Belonging
  • Convenience and life advancement
  • Entertainment.

All mobile phones have to be communication devices at the foundation. Communication can be done through text, voice, and web access. Forming social communities entails belonging through social networks. Mobile devices also help with online shopping and research, along with mobile banking and coupons. On the highest level is entertainment, which may occur through games, apps, and rich media.

Features of Mobile for Mobile Marketing

Mobile phones are a great channel for mobile marketing, advertising, and distribution. They are always on and near the user, so they provide consistent access to communication and information. 

Six features of mobile are highlighted by Tomi Ahonen, which serves as a framework for learning about communication. 

Mobile Devices are Personal

Computers are not personal mobile devices, no matter how much personal connection the former offers. What makes mobile phones stand out is the fact that they are part of anyone’s personal presentation. 

What does this mean for marketers? It means you have to ask for permission and respect the privacy of the target audience. Well, you really have to do this even outside of mobile marketing, but you have to be extra cautious here.

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Mobile Phones are Always Carried

Aside from your wallet and keys, you never leave your mobile phone at home. It’s always in your pocket or purse, meaning messages received by your phone are easily accessed. This can be done within minutes. It also allows you to send messages in a jiffy.

Mobile Devices are Always On

It doesn’t make sense to carry a phone with you everywhere when it’s turned off. For the mobile device to serve its purpose of communication, they must always be on.

For advertisers, this implies you need to think about planning with your showcasing interchanges. You don’t want to send an SMS at 4 am to give potential consumers an offer.

Mobile Devices Have a Built-In Payment System

All phones include built-in systems for transacting business. This is primarily the SIM card. It’s easy to bill a user’s mobile network and let them pay for content and downloads. This implies that they are more than willing to pay for your goods and services, as well as the content. 

Mobile Devices Spark Creativity

Mobile devices allow you to let the creative juices flow because it features multiple tools for you to act on your creative impulse. 

For example, you can instantly take pictures and videos. You can also write on your memos app. More importantly, you’re able to share your own content, consume other content, and make more.

As a marketer, you can leverage this feature by encouraging interactivity in your mobile campaigns. Mobile phones are useful devices for creating viral campaigns using the content of consumers. However, this also means bad reviews and other negative brand messages in case they have bad experiences. Mobile marketing requires monitoring and CRM to manage vitriols.

Mobile Devices Encourage Precise Audience Measurement

There’s a unique way to track all kinds of exchanges on your cell phone. Regardless if you’re using a voice call, SMS message, or access on the internet, there’s a specific way to monitor each of them. 

When mobile marketing, these tracking tools can help you make changes even while they are running. You can even send messages about your campaign based on where they are around the world. Lastly, your campaign can be precisely measured in terms of the return on investment. 

SMS for Mobile Marketing

Short Message Service is one of the built-in features of mobile phones that serve the most basic purpose of these devices. 

SMS stands for short message service, the biggest data ap on Earth. At first, these types of messaging systems were developed for network engineers to test mobile networks.

When mobile marketing, make sure that the message do not exceed the limit. It should be a limit of 160 chars. While you can tie several messages together through a process called concatenating, your audiences will not find this pleasing. You can send texts from one phone to another, and to or from a desktop. 

Another downside of SMS is that it requires both simplicity and creativity. There are so many factors to consider even in the small space of a small screen that you are sending to.

In addition to that, many users want to stay vigilant by not giving their phone numbers away. They would rather not receive marketing messages because they are scared of getting spammed. 

But with the help of Common Short Codes or CSC, you can send to and from consumers using keywords. The two most common keywords that provide a response are STOP and HELP. Stop is chosen when one wants to unsubscribe, while Help is for requesting support.

© Image credits to Adrien Olichon

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