Why You Should Be Doing Mobile Marketing, If You Aren’t Already

It doesn’t seem so long ago that we were introduced to the magical world of the Internet. It became the fastest and most interactive way to get the latest news and entertainment, and with this new technology came a new avenue for marketers as well. Thus, the age of Internet marketing was born.

Just when marketers thought they had understood the latest in online marketing, along came another avenue that has become a vital element of successful online marketing campaigns: mobile marketing.

Marketers in recent years have sought to understand consumer mobile usage in order to most effectively leverage this newest marketing channel. Research released by eMarketer recently shows that mobile usage has been steadily rising among U.S. adults over the past several years, with Americans spending an average of 1 hour and 22 minutes per day on their mobile devices in 2012 (up from 54 minutes per day in 2011).

Average Time Spent per Day with Major Media, via eMarketer

Additionally, according to a World Bank study released last year, over 75% of the world’s population has mobile phone access — meaning that marketers can now target previously untargeted areas.

As a personal, pervasive asset that the majority of adults in the developed world have access to, mobile phones provide the marketer with a closeness to the consumer that has never before been possible. Mobile marketing gives marketers the ability to connect with their consumers at the right time, at the right place and with the right offer.

Mobile marketing budgets have seen a rise in recent years as the desire to engage with customers on a more personal level increases. Brands are embracing mobile marketing in order to act on customer insights that have been derived from market research. It is vital for marketers to make sure that the messages being sent through these new mobile marketing campaigns are effective, driving engagement and conversion rates.

Personalization: The Key To Effective Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing strategies have evolved in accordance with technological advances, and sophisticated mobile usage data, and location-based ad targeting technologies have enabled marketers to reach consumers in more personalized ways than ever before. There are a variety of ways in which to incorporate some level of personalization into your mobile marketing strategy, including:

• Location-Based Advertisements. If someone using a local app (say Foursquare) has indicated that they are visiting the local cinema (via check-in), an in-app advertisement for the ice cream parlour two doors down may be activated. Serving ads relevant to the consumer’s current situation is becoming vital for successful marketing.
• Gamification Efforts. Brands have to work much harder these days to keep their customers interested, and the “fun” aspect of mobile devices is being leveraged for this very purpose. Games are one way in which marketers are engaging consumers via mobile; large brands such as Starbucks and Dominos Pizza are keeping customers engaged while they are within the company’s app, and this encourages the customers to return to the app more frequently.
• Customer Loyalty Offers. Apps are being used to keep customers loyal to a brand through deals and competitions. A consumer’s actions through the app are used to trigger personalized offers that suit the customer’s needs. A purchase of a new printer, for example, may trigger a discount code for paper or for ink for the printer.

Personalization is the key to mobile marketing success and is the main driver of mobile marketing campaigns. As Mark Tack, vice president of marketing at Vibes, Chicago, recently put it: “When marketers deliver personalized and targeted content to their customers, it will ensure the highest chance of engagement, transaction and loyalty, and a far more valuable brand experience.”