There is no other medium in our lives that is quite literally always on and always with us like our mobile device. Many of us will spend more time in e-mail, text connections and social media from our phones than we will talking on it.
Yet, interest in mobile marketing remains low, per the Participatory Marketing Network (PMN) only about 20% are now receiving targeted promotional messages. And PMN also reveals that users would be more likely to abandon social media rather than the mobile device. That indicates there is a unique opportunity and that mobile marketing is still an infant waiting to be nurtured.
The up and coming generation is all over the mobile devices and you can expect that mobile technology might replace the personal computer as we know it today. Some industries are successfully leading the way by integrating innovative mobile ads into their overall strategies. The time for marketers to embrace mobile advertising is now.
The real challenge is getting your message effectively in front of the consumers within a specified target market. Yes, we can build mobile device enhancements into our websites but even then things like e-commerce sites are clumsy. Still, there are things you can do to enhance your mobile marketing. Below are some tips you may wish to evaluate.
When you are incorporating mobile into your marketing strategies should take some time to develop a realistic process and procedure. Set up some benchmarks to measure your success. Simple click through rates are flat, but can give you good information on how effective your attention getting process is working. You will need more such as your list growth. Split testing for different banners or media you use. Be sure to develop a set of metrics that will give you knowledge about what the customer is responding to and what processes are giving the highest returns.
Your highest ROI will be from mixed use of multimedia elements rather than a simple presentation of a product or service. Often an interactive process with a landing page where you can combine elements such as banners, video and other options to engage the customer. Make the most of the increasing availability of mobile devices with sophisticated multimedia, web and video capabilities to showcase brands and products to consumers with the highest impact.
So how do you get started? As always the first step in any marketing endeavor is the business plan. You must know where you want to go, have an idea on how to get there and some metrics to help you know if you have arrived. There are many tools you can use and some you may need to develop along the way but a plan is essential. You will need it with the next step because the vendor will require some of the information you have in it.
Your next step is to apply for your short code. The short code is the special phone numbers that can be used in SMS and MMS messages. It is sometimes called the vanity code and is unique to your company. These codes take two or three months to assign and will come from your mobile technology vendor. It is important to select the right technology partner in this so look closely at AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and others to be sure they have the flexibility and tools you are looking for.
You also need carrier approval. Your technology partner should take care of this for you but you do have to apply. You will need this approval to put your plan into action. They will want to know your strategic plan and many details about your marketing plan. Approvals are usually provided during the period of time when you are making application for your short code. The mobile carriers must sign off on your program in advance. Each one may have different rules, but most want to review a sample message and test your opt-in processes.
Develop an Opt-in process. Just like e-mail you cannot just upload a database and start texting.Opt-in is a mandatory requirement. You must get specific consent to contact people via SMS. After getting the consent in writing, keep a record of the fact that you have it. It is important to note, the opt-in process has to be started outside of your mobile process. It is considered spam if a user didn't specifically send you a text message from the mobile phone number in question. Push marketing is not allowed in this venue and mobile carriers can be harsh on companies suspected of spam.
Those are the four structural steps you need. Who would have thought it would be so easy, or not? Develop a plan, apply for a number, get approvals and have an external opt-in process. One more thought; in your process only use urgent content.Time-sensitive or immediate action messages are best. If it can be sent by e-mail or another process, do so. You are using some of your customer's messaging allotment and you do not want to abuse that privilege. Your customers or subscribers may not value your text message if they are long and take up more than one text allotment or are just informational. Happy Marketing.
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