Mobile marketing is a wide range of digital strategies involving communication through portable devices.

They can be smartphones, tablets or other wearable technologies (think about smart watches!). You can invest in a good marketing strategy integrating apps, social media, mobile-friendly websites and more in order to reach as many users as possible.

What is mobile marketing?

Andreas Marcus Kaplan, Marketing Professor at the ESCP Europe School of Business, gives this definition of mobile marketing.

[It] refers to all marketing endeavors done via a far-reaching network to which target customers are ever-connected via their mobile devices.

A. M. Kaplan

Susbsequently, this is a highly powerful way to reach people on their personal devices, wherever they are.

Why should you use it?

Marketing studies had noticed that most of the internet users are connected to the web through portable devices. Almost 80% of people spend their time on mobile apps and websites.

The internet traffic on mobile was predicted to surpass desktop as early as in 2014, and it certainly did. People are constantly checking their phones, using them more and more to surf the web, read the news, scroll on social media.

So this is the place where you will find your clients: those little objects in their pockets.

Types of mobile marketing

If you are searching for a successful strategy of mobile marketing, you should know your target audience first. People use app and social media differently based on their location, age group and day-to-day habits.

Here are some of the strategies you can implement to your marketing campaigns in order to catch their attention:

• App-based marketing. Have you ever scrolled your Facebook or Instagram feed and found a sponsored post? Of course you have. This kind of mobile marketing is based on the most used apps, especially social media.
• In-game mobile marketing. It takes advantage of the increasing number of mobile gamers. This is a highly-targeted type of marketing, because you can predict which kind of users will play which game.
• Google ads. The greatest and most used search engine in the world offers a paid avertising program that is highly targeted. A good marketer is able to use Google ads in the most effective way.

Strategies for mobile marketing in-depth

So, you want to start your mobile marketing campaigns: what should you do? Firstly, set a precise goal. Do you want to increase your followers number, or maybe your sales, do you want more people to subscribe to your newsletter or to download your app?

As well as defining your goal, you should make an in-depth study about your target audience. Discover their age group, their gender, their location, their habits online and off-line. Then set your strategy of mobile marketing up and start catching their attention.

4 things you might have never though about

When talking about mobile marketing, people sometimes think it’s easy. You set a couple of keywords related to your product or service, create a catching image and copy text and that’s it.

Well, there are some thing you might have never thought about to boost your mobile-friendly campaign.

• Hyperlocal targeting: that means attaching your sponsored posts or ads to a specific geographic area. This can be as wide or narrow as you want, but remember your customers will be more tempted to use your coupon if your shop is right next door.
• Voice Search Optimization: although it can be controversial, there’s no denying this strategy works. People are more and more likely to search for something they need through voice searches, especially when they are driving a car or riding a bike and can’t use their hands.
• Augmented reality: apps and games use it widely. This is an immersive experience that serves to create a community of loyal followers (to turn into buying customers). Things like Instagram and Snapchat filters or entire virtual reality-based experiences like Pokemon Go create a united community eager to share.
• User-generated campaigns: this are very popular on social media apps and quite cheap to include in your mobile marketing strategy. Think about an action or experience your users can share on their personal profiles. Short videos and eye-catching images are fun and easy to create and will give an almost free flow of new followers and potential customers.

Tips and tricks

Remember the mobile web is a different space from the desktop space: everything is easy to read, fast and visual-based. You can’t reach everyone at the same time (though it would be nice), so concentrate on a particular demographic for each mobile marketing campaign.

Integrate the online and offline customer experience to make them feel as loved and valued as possible. For instance, make your advertising banner pop up right when the customer is near your physical shop’s area.

Take advantage of data analysis and AB testing in order to better understand your customers, their habits and their needs.

Successful examples of mobile marketing

Pontiac and Nike were the first two brands to launch an SMS driven advertising campaign. It was 2005 and, even though this media is not the most used right now, you can always benefit from a successful pioneer.

A nice and fun example of mobile marketing was set up by Ogilvy Paris: they gave you free WiFi (in areas usually not covered) if you played Scrabble on your smartphone. The higher the score, the more minutes of free connection.

A good user-generated campaign was #mycalvin by Calvin Klein. It started organically and the fashion brand’s marketing team took advantege of it, asking influencers to post their favourite items in a social media post.

Another brilliant idea was Domino’s Pizza Creation App. The mobile game gave users the opportunity to have fun creating their very own pizza and then order it.

In conclusion

Mobile marketing is made of a lot of different tools, devices and strategies. In order to use it effectively, you need a social media expert, a mobile marketer, a web or app developer.

Create your perfect mobile-based campaign following our news and tips about digital marketing and more!