Mobile marketing offers businesses a variety of channels to reach customers. While it is a single device, it has multiple apps by which to make contact and engage consumers, such as — apps for emails, messaging, and social media. And today, people seamlessly transition among them all throughout the day.
Email continues to usually be the first thought of tool essential to companies’ mobile marketing efforts. It’s been the backbone of mobile campaigns for years and experts predict it will remain king over the next three to five years. Why businesses like it, is because it fits the traditional way of thinking. You consider your business needs and then send out an email blast based on your schedule.
Company Apps
While that approach has its merits, there’s more to mobile marketing. Many companies are deciding to build and launch their own app. Effective mobile apps need to be purposeful and deliver value to customers. It is a powerful mechanism because it offers businesses a way to provide a branded user experience in a controlled environment. A word of caution though if you’re considering this path, take the time to do it right. Don’t simply launch an app because a competitor has one. Develop something that offers meaningful customer interactions.
Businesses also need to reach out through new marketing avenues. A big part to understanding mobile marketing comes from acknowledging that it is about one-to-one interactions. Conversations have now moved to social media and messaging platforms.
Social Media
Facebook and Twitter are the two most established social media platforms that companies are utilizing. But there’s more to get out of these vehicles by paying attention to the information that customers are inputting into these channels as well. If you draw upon this information you can create more personalized communications, especially in a one-to-one setting.
Consideration for advertising with these platforms needs a mention too. Mobile advertising has grown substantially over the last several years. It has shown double digit increases each year, according to research from BIA/Kelsey. In particular it accounted for just over 10 percent of all local advertising revenue in 2017, where as print newspapers accounted for 8.3 percent and magazines just 1.1 percent.
Messaging Channels
Messaging apps like WhatsApp, China’s WeChat, Slack, Japan’s Line, and Facebook’s Messenger have gained attractiveness quickly and have actually surpassed social media apps in popularity and in terms of worldwide adoption. These messaging apps should be on the radar of marketers because they are moving into the commerce realm.
An example of this was Uber’s integration with Messenger to permit customers to request rides directly from within the Messenger app. Bot technology allows for this type of integration by creating an opening or a channel of communication within another app. This will allow companies to engage with customers in new ways, and potentially for transactions. Messaging for now needs to become part of the marketing mix to help businesses learn to have conversations on these types of platforms.
Snapchat is probably the fastest growing messaging app to date. And just like Facebook years ago, companies initially might think there is no reason for them to be on it. Don’t make this mistake. According to their recent IPO filing, they have 160 million daily active users. Big brands like Coca-Cola, Taco Bell, and GrubHub are already using the platform and advertising on it.
So why mobile marketing continues to grow, now is the time to be learning about each platform and how your company can have a natural presence on it. Your strategies will need to change to work well with these tools, but it will be worth it. Mobile marketing means moving your business toward a personalized approach that delivers relevant information at a time convenient for your customer.
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