April 26 2013
Mobile marketing is the process of marketing performed on or through a mobile device. Considering the number of people that are connecting to the internet through their mobile devices, mobile marketing represents the newest development in online marketing. As such, its full potentials are yet to be realised. Although mobile marketing can be regarded as an upgrade of online marketing, there are certain peculiarities that need to be kept in mind. Since the mobile screens are much smaller compared to personal computers, marketing a product or service on mobile device s is much harder. The ads are more limited in terms of available space and marketers need to be much more creative and to the point in order to catch the users’ attention.
SMS and MMS marketing- All of us have sent SMS and MMS messages through our mobile phones and we are all familiar with what these terms mean. The difference between the two is that SMS are mostly text messages, while MMS include images, video or audio files. Using SMS or MMS messages as a way of marketing a product of service means that marketers send messages about certain kinds of promotions, discounts, events etc. to customers who have opted in to receive these messages. Just like with e-mail marketing, sending unsolicited messages is considered as spam and is not advisable to use. In comparison to e-mail marketing, this kind of marketing is more effective because we all carry our phones with us all the time and we open personal messages much faster and sooner than e-mail messages. Research shows that most people read their phone messages within five minutes of receiving them.
Application marketing- The boom of mobile applications has created another mode of marketing. Since many users are installing and using various applications, advertising through a mobile application is also an easy and effective way to reach your customers. Most applications have an in-built push notifications feature that marketers can use to send customers news, promotions, discounts etc. If you are a business, the application itself is a form of promoting your brand and the products or services that you offer.
Game mobile marketing simply refers to showing ads while a user is playing a game on their mobile device. This can be very effective since many users, especially young ones, are using their mobile phones to play games.
Mobile websites marketing- This form of advertising occurs when users are looking for information on certain websites and ads show on the website the user is browsing. That is why having a mobile website is essential if you want your website to be able to show ads.
Paid search mobile marketing- Similar to advertising through Google on a PC, ads can be placed above the organic search results and be available to users as they are searching products or services on Google through their mobile devices.
The above list is not exhaustive as there are additional ways to use mobile marketing for your business. If you need help, our mobile marketing specialists can help you achieve your desired goals and objectives. Keep in mind that you have to mobilize your business if you want to keep up with the latest trends.