What Is Mobile Marketing? Components, Benefits and Best Practices

In recent years, the amount of time people spend on mobile devices has increased. As a result, mobile devices are now one of the best methods for a business to interact with its customers. The process of reaching these customers on their mobile devices is known as mobile marketing. In this article, we discuss the components of mobile marketing and its benefits.

What is mobile marketing?

Mobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy designed to target users on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile marketing usually uses methods such as contacting users directly on their devices or optimizing a website for mobile users. Businesses and organizations typically use mobile marketing in addition to other marketing strategies to improve their brand awareness and increase sales.

Related: 10 Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Business

Components of mobile marketing

Mobile marketing typically consists of several different components, such as:

SMS/MMS marketing

SMS (short message service) and MMS (multimedia message service) are two methods for directly contacting someone on their mobile device. An SMS message is a basic text message, whereas MMS contains multimedia elements, like images. Marketers can send these messages to potential or current customers, notifying them of information, such as their latest promotions. They can also include a link to their website, making it especially easy for the customer to visit.

To get started with SMS or MMS marketing, the marketer needs the contact information for their customers, which they typically get when the customer submits their information through a website form. For example, a business may require a phone number when completing a purchase. They can then send updates on the customer's order in a text message or alert them in the future if a similar product goes on sale.

Mobile app marketing

Mobile app marketing is when an advertisement appears within a third-party mobile application. Many app developers release their apps for free but generate revenue by allowing other brands to advertise on their apps. The app's user may then see an advertising banner on the bottom of the app or as a full-screen image while using the app.

Many marketers like to market through mobile apps because it allows for the ability to target an audience that is similar to the business's own audience. For example, a hardware supply chain may place advertisements on an app that provides home improvement tutorials.

Related: How To Become an App Developer

Mobile-ready websites

A major aspect of mobile marketing is ensuring your website appears correctly on smaller mobile devices and is still easy to use. When a customer visits a website through their mobile device, the mobile marketer works to ensure that they have a good experience. For example, they may redesign the webpage so that the menu is larger compared to the desktop version, making it easier to tap with a finger.

They may also adjust fonts or color schemes to ensure they look better on smaller devices. A common strategy is to use a concept called responsive design, which adjusts the webpage based on the size of the screen.

Mobile-optimized emails

Similar to redesigning webpages, mobile marketers ensure that all marketing emails look good on smaller screens. This is because many people read emails on mobile devices. Some changes that the marketer may make to emails include adjusting the font size, reducing the amount of content or making links bigger. They also ensure that any links within the email lead to pages that are also optimized for smaller screens. Additionally, mobile marketers may try to find email subjects that get the user's attention and appear fully within the smaller screen.

Related: Complete Guide To Newsletter Marketing

Benefits of mobile marketing

There are several benefits of using mobile marketing, including:

Ability to reach more people

Mobile marketing allows you to reach people who use their mobile devices frequently to browse the internet. Some people may not have access to a desktop computer and may use only their mobile devices, so a mobile marketing strategy makes it more likely that you can reach these people with your messaging. In addition, if your marketing reaches a person on both their mobile device and another medium, this can strengthen your brand awareness.

Localization

Most mobile phones have the ability to recognize a user's location. Mobile marketers can use this feature to their advantage by localizing their messaging. For example, a local salon may decide to run advertisements only in specific ZIP codes. Then, if someone searches “salon near me,” their mobile device registers their ZIP code, and the advertisement appears. With localization, marketers can target very specific areas, ensuring that their marketing resources go to the people who are most likely to become customers.

Faster buying

Many people use their mobile devices to complete online transactions. With mobile marketing practices, you can decrease the time between someone learning about your brand and becoming a customer. For example, suppose someone searches “book store near me” and sees a mobile advertisement for your store. They then visit your website, browse your inventory online and complete an online order all in one browsing session. Because people can do so much through their mobile devices, it's easier to convert them to paying customers through mobile marketing efforts compared to some other marketing channels.

Mobile marketing best practices

Below are some best practices to implement when creating a mobile marketing campaign:

Keep messages short

Due to the smaller screen size on most mobile devices, it's important to keep messaging concise. Ensure that anything you write fits within the user's screen and that they can keep scrolling to a minimum. In addition, look to reduce the number of steps a customer needs to take to find what they are looking for or complete a purchase. This may mean reducing the number of pages on your mobile website or removing some steps from the checkout process.

Target your audience

The audience you want to reach influences your mobile marketing strategies. For example, a business trying to reach young video gamers may have a different mobile marketing strategy than one trying to reach older homeowners. When creating your mobile marketing strategy, try to consider your target audience and the best places to find that audience.

Related: Defining Your Target Audience: What It Is and Why It's Important

Experiment and analyze results

There are many different ways to market through mobile devices, so it's important to try different methods to see what works best for you. Even if you already have strategies that work for your business, continue to explore new possibilities. Whenever you create a mobile marketing campaign, have a system in place for tracking the results so you can analyze them. Between trying new methods and analyzing the data, you may find new strategies that work better than your current ones.

Example of mobile marketing

Below is an example of how a business may implement a mobile marketing strategy:

A national real estate agency, Forever Homes, launches a mobile marketing campaign designed to get more leads for their local real estate agents. One part of this campaign includes running advertisements on television and in print ads that invite anyone looking to buy a home to text a phone number with the word “homebuyer” as the message. After sending this text message, the user receives a message asking where they are looking to buy a home. The user responds and then receives another message from a real estate agent in that area.

Another part of Forever Home's mobile marketing strategy includes running advertisements in mobile apps. They decide to target two types of mobile apps: home listing and home improvement apps. Their goal of targeting these two types of apps is to connect with users who are either looking to buy homes or who are fixing up their homes to sell.