Mobile Marketing - Small businesses face tough competition from all sources.
To remain competitive, they have to cash in on every opportunity that’s present. Sadly, most small businesses are wary of trying out and adopting new marketing strategies to grow. They want to take the safe route of using the tried-and-tested traditional marketing approaches. It’s daunting for them to try out the newer digital and mobile marketing strategies for small businesses.
Mobile marketing can be so beneficial to small businesses, whether they are online or have brick-and-mortar stores.
Mobile devices are within everyone’s reach most of the time, and almost 70 percent of mobile searches result in action within an hour’s time.
What is mobile marketing? In very simple terms, mobile marketing is targeting marketing campaigns to mobile device users.
Small Businesses Need Mobile Marketing Strategies More Than Ever
Let's look at some of the reasons why mobile marketing strategies for small businesses should form an important part of their overall marketing.
- Mobile email open rates are increasing. People prefer reading emails on the go.
- For online businesses, many purchases are made online. Mobile ecommerce is exploding.
- Mobile searches are very specific and generally result in an action.
- For local searches, mobiles are used very often, which is a huge opportunity for offline retailers.
- Smartphone usage is increasing and so is the usage of mobile apps.
- Mobile marketing is trackable and doesn't require a huge budget.
So what mobile marketing strategies can your small business implement?
These 7 Mobile Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses Will Deliver Results
Transition to a responsive design and mobile-friendly website
Before starting any mobile marketing campaign, you should make your website mobile-friendly. This means your site should read well on a mobile device. You don't want the text, images, videos and other elements to appear in a haphazard manner because these are enough to spoil a homepage, reduce your conversions and, worse, turn your visitors away to a competitor whose site is mobile-optimized.
Make sure to use a responsive website design or theme that is optimized for mobiles by default. This means that the website will automatically change its layout and content depending on the screen and device. You might still need to do a bit of tweaking of the menus and content display for mobile viewing.
Essentially, you should ensure that the website opens well on mobiles, laptops, desktops, tablets or any other device.
Optimize your website content for local searches
As many as 60 percent of searches for local businesses happen on mobile devices. Additionally, these local searches like ‘watch repair near me’ result in offline store visits. So, mobile marketing strategy for small businesses should be focused on local searches.
When you create content, target local search terms. Local searches are generally long-tail keywords.
List your business in Google My Business (GMB) with your information including name, location and contact number. GMB is like a local map for business listings and it makes it very easy for desktop and mobile users to discover you in local searches.
Use text (SMS) marketing
Text marketing via a platform is easily trackable as you know the open rates and the links clicked. It also has immediate delivery and you can get feedback from your clients quickly. Personalization of your message is possible, too.
Financial institutions are utilizing this medium to send sensitive data through SMS. As a small business, you too can use this powerful mobile marketing strategy to send special, time-sensitive discounts and exclusive information to your customers.
Incorporate mobile payments
When you talk about mobile marketing, incorporating mobile payments into your strategy cannot be neglected. Mobile e-commerce is on the rise and small businesses have a product or service offering.
Make the buying process as simple and streamlined as possible for mobile customers by giving them mobile payment options. Incorporating payment processing offers benefits like service quality and ease of use. Services such as Google Wallet and Apple Pay make this very easy.
Mobile payments can even be used by offline retail shops on their websites when they allow customers to order and pre-pay on their mobile phones.
Creating QR codes will take your marketing to the next level altogether. These codes store digital data that can be transmitted quickly. You can see them frequently in print ads and in shops. To make a payment, you just need to scan the code using your mobile and you are directed to a custom-built landing page that has the details about the payment process.
Create mobile apps
Smartphone usage is on the rise and around 80 percent of these users use apps each day.
Having an app built for your business and website is a smart mobile marketing strategy for small businesses. This way, you can get your brand in front of mobile users and drive leads and sales.
Creating a mobile app doesn't have to be difficult. You could get it done through a job site. The app users can install it from the Google Play store or the App Store on their mobiles.
When you have an app for your small business, start tracking the downloads, installs and usage to make your mobile marketing effective. It’s important to track your app in real-time to know what’s happening and take action, if required.
Use mobile ads and deals
Small business owners can get their brands to their target customers by utilizing mobile ads and deals pushed through the mobile ad networks. These mobile ads can be run through social media and other channels.
Mobile ads are dynamic and can give your business very high returns. Their ability to target your audience based on geographical area and demographics enables them to reach people who are very likely to engage with your messages.
You can register your business on a good mobile advertising network. Mobile advertising enables your business to send out digital deals like SMS coupons directly to users’ smartphones. You might lose a physical coupon, but losing its digital version is rare.
Encourage engagement on social networks
Most people check social media on their mobile devices and spend lots of time checking Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That’s a big opportunity for engagement. Share content that encourages engagement, likes, shares and comments.
Focus on shorter content because it’s easy to consume it on social platforms. Visual content including images and videos work very well on social media.
Your Turn Now
Once you have planned the mobile marketing strategies for your small business, start experimenting and consolidating what works for you. Which mobile marketing strategies have you tried, and how have your results been?
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