Mobile marketing—a marketing channel that began slowly back in the 2000s is now booming year on year. Its importance to your business’s success cannot be overemphasized.
According to Campaign Monitor, over five billion people now use smartphones worldwide. The graph below shows the growth of global mobile marketing since 2017. Analysts predict the market size will grow to $25 billion by 2024, a staggering 18.9% increase over a 5-year period.
Source: MarketsandMarkets
As a business owner, this demonstrates a huge market with unlimited potential for you to tap into. In this article, let’s look at seven mobile marketing strategies you should implement.
But first let’s answer the question: Why are mobile marketing strategies so effective?
Why is mobile marketing effective?
Mobile marketing strategies have numerous advantages over other types of marketing. Given the wide-ranging use of mobile phones across the world, tapping into this section of the marketing world is, and will be, incredibly important for the growth of your business.
Mobile clicks are less expensive
One of the main reasons why mobile marketing strategies are so effective comes down to cost. Marketing strategies cost time and money. Saving these precious commodities wherever possible is fundamental to the success of your business.
The numbers don’t lie. You can save big on mobile clicks as compared to desktop device equivalents – 24% according to TechJury.
More people purchase via mobile
Nearly 50% of online purchases are made through mobile. Convenience has a large part to play in this.
Thanks to mobile devices, consumers can make purchases even when they are on the go. Mobile also helps consumers get the information they need to make a purchase, as 70% of smartphone users go on to make a purchase in-store.
Mobile marketing allows for greater reach
Mobile marketing strategies have a greater reach for potential customers, mainly because of the sheer number of people who can access them.
Print marketing, on the other hand, has limited reach. Print advertisements need to be accessed through physical means, such as magazines. These formats are not nearly as accessible to a consumer as is marketing on a mobile phone.
Mobile marketing is highly personalized
Mobile marketing strategies directly speak to the person. Personal devices such as phones, tablets, and smartwatches are carried by people everywhere and every day. That gives you 24/7 access to your target market. What brochure advertisement can compete with that?
Clever strategies such as proximity marketing can even target potential customers when they’re physically nearby to your business, offering a highly personalized service.
8 Mobile marketing strategies to help your business grow
Now that we have learned the benefits of mobile marketing strategies, let’s look at how you can use them to your business’s advantage. Here are seven mobile marketing strategies to follow:
#1 Have a mobile-friendly website
If your website is not properly optimized for mobile, it doesn’t matter if it has a great visual design as you’re losing out on a massive target market.
A mobile-optimized site is a necessity for massive sales. A website designed for mobile use can treble your odds of boosting mobile conversions. A website that performs poorly on a phone, on the other hand, results in a negative user experience. There is far less chance of that customer returning to your site later on to make a purchase.
The best mobile websites use things such as an adaptive design and HTML 5 and easily adapt to the size of screen they are being accessed on.
eBay’s website is an example of fantastic mobile optimization. As of 2019, 60% of eBay’s marketplace GMV is made through mobile, and over half of eBay transactions are viewed on a mobile device before the purchase process is complete. If your business is present on eBay, with multichannel selling as the new norm, you can even integrate eBay with Shopify, BigCommerce or other eCommerce platforms to generate more sales.
Source – 9to5Mac
Google’s mobile URL tester can test how optimized your site is for mobile. If there’s work to be done, make sure to get in touch with your website developer.
#2 Leverage search engine marketing on mobile
Optimizing your search engine marketing strategy is just as important.
Around 55% of people use their mobile phones to search for businesses, providing you with a fantastic opportunity to show your pay-per-click advertisements when they use the search function.
Adapt your advertisement copy so that it’s short and succinct. That will help maximize its effectiveness, eventually leading to a sale.
Advertisement extensions for mobile can also be utilized to your advantage. For example, call only ads and call extensions (which add your number to existing ads to increase click-through rates) are a brilliant way of getting your business’s name heard and spreading awareness for your brand.
#3 Make use of local listings
Local listing sites are crucial to getting your mobile presence out there. The best part is, they’re often free.
Source: Bing Places for Business
Sites such as Yelp for Business or Bing Places for Business are key components in finding new customers and getting your name heard. Make sure your email, phone number, address, among others are up to date.
#4 Use social media marketing
Social media is accessed mostly through mobile (the figure was around 83% overall in 2019), meaning that the mobile platform is the most lucrative when it comes to promoting your business on social media.
So, if you’re not on social media just yet, create your business account.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your content. Be smart with your posts, including your phrasing of captions. Also, make sure you use engaging videos and images. YouTube videos are the best way to get started. Sell your brand in the best way you know-how, and also learn how to tag properly to increase engagement and get your posts shared.
Mobile posts look shorter than those on desktop, so bear this in mind when writing them. Keep them brief but effective.
If you find managing social media overwhelming, you can hire a virtual social media assistant who will help you manage all your social channels in one place.
Also, try to make the content interactive wherever possible. Positive engagement with your customer base is so important in terms of attracting a loyal following and leading to big sales.
In fact, around 45% of B2B buyers prefer interactive content over any other type. We’ve also got a comprehensive blog post that explains this in more detail.
#5 Optimize your email marketing campaigns for mobile
Email marketing isn’t just for desktops. You should optimize your emails for mobile, too. According to Litmus, unless your emails go to spam, 42% of all emails are being opened on mobile devices. So, make sure that your email formatting is mobile-friendly.
Pay special attention to email headers and subject lines. This is your first (and sometimes only) opportunity to make a potential customer open your email.
A great email also combines bold and effective imagery with persuasive text, all in the correct formatting for mobile. Capital letters can be used sparingly to visually draw the eye to certain words or phrases. Check out this example:
Source: Upland Software
Often, asking a question is also effective at attracting attention as an opening line.
The power of email marketing even allows you to make use of mobile devices. Don’t forget to include a call-to-action (CTA). Remember, email marketing strategies are designed to get the customer to take a particular action. Getting them to that destination takes a lot of thought and effort. You can measure your emails’ effectiveness through email campaign management and make adjustments based on the collected data.
#6 Don’t forget geofencing
Want to automatically reach potential customers that are physically nearby to your business? Geofencing marketing is the answer.
Geofencing uses either GPS or RFID to “define geographical boundaries”. That can be used to your advantage. Just target customers who are nearby and automatically send them ads promoting your business. You can also allow them to take advantage of a special offer, such as a coupon code.
If your company has an app, you can set up geofencing through Beaconstac. Click here to find out more about this service.
#7 Take advantage of SMS marketing
Business text messaging or SMS marketing involves sending text messages directly to your customers, advertising your latest promotions, sales, and new lines of stock.
Texting a customer makes them feel as though you’ve personally reached out to them.
SMS marketing also shows you value the time of your client base.
That said, customers who receive a text from your business are more likely to remember you. They are more likely to return to your website looking for more deals.
SMS marketing is a fantastic way to strengthen your link with your potential customers and increase your chances of a sale. Just make sure you give your audience the chance to opt-out, too.
#8 Send personalized push notifications
In a world where mobile devices are a brand’s primary interface, push notifications are a must when it comes to communicating with mobile app users.
Push notifications are ideal for sending quick, personalized messages to users in real-time. Unlike emails, they don’t get filtered out by spam folders and given most mobile users spend a high percentage of their day on their devices, they’re more likely to connect.
With new technology, it’s possible to send highly sophisticated push campaigns, grouped by user segments and scheduled to deliver when users are more likely to click on them. In-app messages and app inbox are parallel features that can both reach out to users and optimize app UX.
Bottom Line
Mobile marketing strategies can make a huge difference to the success of your business.
They are cheaper than other formats. They also have the widest reach possible compared to more traditional methods.
What was once seen as a niche section of the marketing sector is now absolutely essential for any business looking to grow and evolve. Deciding to take mobile marketing seriously is the best decision you could make towards growing your business.
Use these top tips as your guide, and you’ll see those sales coming in. Good luck!