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Why your business needs a mobile marketing strategy

We’ve said it many times and will continue to say it: mobile is the future of business. Nearly 40% of internet time is now spent on mobile devices. This reality may be discomforting to some and invigorating to others. But no matter what side of the fence you’re on, the business you lead simply must adapt to the mobile web or else it’s sunk.

 

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It’s fine to get excited about all the mobile buzz and to adopt the lingo and start talking the talk. But how is your marketing approach coming along? The problem is that a lot of folks think that mobile marketing can somehow play second fiddle to other mobile approaches. They might reason, “Well, I’ve got a responsive web design or a web app and that should hold me over for now.” But nothing can be further from the truth.

Again, to emphasize the critical point of mobile marketing, let’s throw in a some stats to highlight what we’re talking about:

* 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users.

* Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016

* 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase.

* In a recent study comparing marketing ROI to traditional initiatives, 52 percent of mobile marketers stated mobile returns were higher while only 15 percent stated their returns as lower.

When we talk about mobile marketing, let’s be sure we’re clear on what we mean. Mobile marketing is a set of best practices that allow organizations to engage with their customers interactively through a smartphone or mobile device. And at a minimum a true “mobile first” approach must include an integrated mobile marketing strategy. Here are a few guidelines to help you get started:

* Realize that mobile marketing must be a central part of your business strategy; simply tweaking or tuning your existing social media strategy for mobile users is not enough.

* Understand that mobile marketing is multi-faceted and encompasses a number of avenues such as app-based marketing, in-game mobile marketing, QR codes, location-based marketing, mobile search and image ads to name a few.

* Check on Google Analytics to see what your current mobile traffic segment is, what kind of mobile devices visitors are using, and the percent of mobile traffic in relation to all site visits.

* It goes without say, but your business needs a customized mobile app to enhance and advertise your brand.

* Ensure that you have a robust email mobile marketing campaign; as you ramp this up ensure the emails are correctly formatted for mobile traffic. MailChimp is your go-to source for all things related to email campaigns.

* Get onboard with Facebook mobile ads!

 

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This last point is critical enough that it deserves further expansion. One of the biggest draws for mobile are Facebook Ads. In fact, the social media giant recently hit a major milestone with 1.23 billion monthly active users, including 945 million mobile users. These numbers are quite staggering but provide a golden opportunity for businesses. Getting onboard with Facebook ad marketing is a crucial strategy in today’s mobile marketing universe. FB offers plenty of resources to help you get started with that.

 

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Mobile marketing must be a central part of your mobile strategy. Don’t settle for less and try to get by with simply posting a responsive web page or adopting a mobile app. Everyone is doing that, but these steps don’t go far enough. To thrive in today’s digital economy and reach the largest audience, start building your integrated mobile marketing strategy today.

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About Jeffrey Walker

Jeff is a business development consultant who specializes in helping businesses grow through technology innovations and solutions. He holds multiple master’s degrees from institutions such as Andrews University and Columbia University, and leverages this background towards empowering people in today’s digital world. He currently works as a research specialist for a Fortune 100 firm in Boston. When not writing on the latest technology trends, Jeff runs a robotics startup called virtupresence.com, along with oversight and leadership of startuplabs.co - an emerging market assistance company that helps businesses grow through innovation.