Last Updated on July 25, 2023
Mobile marketing is growing. In fact, over 50% of all online traffic is now sourced from mobile phones. Yet many retailers are failing to craft an effective mobile marketing strategy. They haven’t even got started.
With mobile commerce sales projected to hit $432.24 billion by 2022, it’s time for retailers to secure a piece of the pie.
This guide will look at the benefits of mobile marketing and how to build a successful mobile marketing campaign. First, though, let’s define exactly what mobile marketing is.
What is mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing is the use of SMS, MMS, and mobile apps, or a combination of all, to promote brands, products, and services. For example, marketers can send notifications to users about new products launching on a retailer’s website or advertise through an app.
Marketers can also provide incentives for customers to download an app, such as exclusive discounts and first notice of new products. Mobile marketing campaigns are generally focused on encouraging customers to do something, such as make a purchase or download an app.
What are the benefits of mobile marketing?
Before you jump into building your mobile marketing campaign, it’s important to understand the benefits to retailers:
1. It has mass appeal
More than three billion people now own a smartphone. There are over 290 million users in the US alone. With such a large audience, retailers must have a mobile strategy.
2. Users are on their phones 24/7
The average mobile user spends three hours and 15 minutes per day using their phone. This means they’re highly likely to have the app open – or at least be notified about it – daily, which makes this an effective marketing platform.
3. It connects the online and offline world
Mobile devices bridge the gap between an outlet’s online presence and its in-store traffic. Retailers can use their app to push out offers or coupons for products in-store to customers’ phones, increasing both brand awareness and footfall.
4. It’s trackable
In addition, it’s easy for retailers to track the actions customers take after receiving a notification or seeing an ad. This includes whether they installed the app, opened their push notifications, or clicked on an ad. This helps retailers gauge the success of their campaigns and make improvements where necessary.
5. It’s cost-efficient
While the return on investment for mobile marketing can be difficult to track, it’s often less expensive than other forms of marketing. Many apps are free to download and the cost of a mobile ad is relatively low when compared with other online ads.
6. It’s easy to understand
The world of mobile marketing is relatively easy to get your head around. For example, creating a mobile app is easy once you understand the meaning of no-code. This makes it a great option for inexperienced marketers.
How to build a mobile marketing campaign
Now you understand how mobile marketing can grow your business, it’s time to start building your campaign. In many ways, the process is similar to a traditional marketing campaign but with some key differences.
1. Set your mobile marketing goals
It’s important to set goals for your campaign at the start, as this will be your blueprint throughout. Your campaign should encompass what you want to achieve and how you’re going to do it, both short-term and long-term. For example, a retailer could have a goal of increasing app downloads from 1,000 per month to 12,000.
Use the data you have to explore your audience’s app downloading habits and preferences – apps they’re already using, how many apps they’ve downloaded on average, if they’re heavy data users or not, and begin to plan where best to advertise. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Tune, and Adjust to determine these trends.
2. Segment your audience
The most effective mobile advertising campaigns are created with a specific audience in mind. Understanding the different categories of your customer base will help you tailor your message and provide relevant offers. By knowing who your target is, you can be more effective in reaching them through their preferred channels (such as push notifications or email).
3. Create mobile buying personas
With your target audience identified, you can move on to creating personas (profiles of your ideal customer). These should include information like:
| • Age | • Gender | • Which apps they have |
| • Buying habits | • Hobbies | • How many push notifications they receive |
| • Location | • Occupation | • If they access the internet mostly from a mobile or desktop device |
This will help you to further tailor your offerings to appeal to your audience.
4. Get the right tools in place
Working with existing tools is a great way to save time and money when building your campaign. You can start by using apps such as Google Analytics or Facebook Audience to see which platforms your customers are using.
In addition, see what parts of your campaign can be automated using bots. You might wish to read these Automation Anywhere RPA guides to find out more.
5. Consider proximity marketing
Proximity marketing allows you to send push notifications, discount vouchers, or ads to customers based on their location. This can be a particularly useful tool for retailers with physical stores as it allows them to offer promotions or launch campaigns when customers are nearby.
6. Optimize and test your campaign
Now your campaign is in place, it’s time to start testing. This will ensure you’re reaching your target audience, making the most of the data available, and optimizing resources.
A/B testing is a great way to measure the success of each element of your campaign. You can test different images, messages, or offers to see which resonates best with customers and reduces your website bounce rate. This information can help you make important changes to your campaign to ensure it’s as effective as possible.
7. Measure your ROI
It’s vital to measure the return of investment from each element of your campaign. This will allow you to understand what works best and which elements need changing.
Mobile marketing strategies: tips and recommendations
Below, we take a look at some of the most effective mobile marketing strategies for you to explore.
Mobile-optimized content
The first step in your strategy should be creating mobile-optimized content. This will ensure customers can view your page without issues, no matter what device they’re using.
Your existing website and content need to be optimized for mobile. Then, you should consider the benefits of content automation and see how much of this can be automated.
Voice search optimization
Voice search is on the rise. This means you need to ensure your website and content are optimized for voice searches also.
Creating a strategy with this element included from the start will save you time further down the line. If you want to understand voice search, read up on AI and how to build a bot.
Text message marketing
Text marketing is a hugely popular mobile strategy that involves sending promotional messages to your customers. It’s easy to implement, and the costs are low as you only pay for messages sent or received.
Video marketing
Video marketing is another effective strategy for building brand awareness. You can create videos that are shown on your website, as well as producing entertaining content to be shared on social media channels. This in turn increases the likelihood of customers visiting your site and buying from you.
Personalized campaigns
Personalized campaigns are your most effective tool for securing conversions and loyalty. These allow you to make your message relevant to each customer and tailor offers or discounts that will appeal specifically to them.
The level of personalization possible with these campaigns is on the rise, which means you can get even closer to ensuring your customers feel valued and are likely to follow your brand in the future.
Mobile apps
You should consider creating a mobile app for your business too (if you haven’t already). Mobile apps offer a direct way to communicate with customers and make it easy for them to place orders and get in touch, all from one central hub online.
You can create an app for anything, from a hosted contact center to a food delivery app. These can be used to increase loyalty by rewarding customers who use the app or refer friends. You can even use them for competitions that encourage customers to visit your store.
Location awareness
Using location awareness tools, you can send push notifications or banner ads based on where a customer is in relation to your business. For example, if they’re traveling nearby or just passing, you could offer them a discount to entice them into your store.
Search and display ads
As well as sending targeted ads to your customers, you also need to consider how they’re able to find you. Search and display ads allow your business to be found by new and existing customers, ensuring your brand is seen by the widest audience possible.
In summary
Crafting a successful mobile marketing strategy involves a variety of elements. It’s important to ensure each is tailored to your business and the customers you want to target, as this will help you gain the highest possible return on investment. You should also identify the processes that can be automated to maximize efficiency.
Including all of these elements from the start will save time and money in the long term. Plus, it will help your business to stay ahead of the competition. Don’t hesitate – now is the time to act when it comes to building an effective mobile marketing strategy.
Author Bio:
Tammy Wood – Director of Global Technical SEO
Tammy Wood has been involved with SEO for two decades. Her current role is Director of Technical SEO, for Automation Anywhere, an intelligent automation ecosystem. While not chasing keywords Tammy enjoys reading, buying shoes, and writing articles about her expertise such as process automation, cognitive RPA, and SEO. Here is her LinkedIn.
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