From our guest author Artyom Matevosyan
Recent technological advancement shows a tendency of transferring everything into mobile devices. This encourages marketers to promote their products through mobile marketing channels more than anywhere else.Â
The inclination towards mobile marketing along with the advancement of technologies creates new mobile marketing channels each year, giving marketers more room to get creative. Independent of the channel, content plays a major role. Therefore, more and more small-medium businesses collaborate with micro-influencers to get mobile-optimized, social-first content at scale. In that way, they leverage both the content creation skills of influential content creators and tap at the same time into new, highly engaged communities of potential customers.
However, as much as there are always new and highly innovative mobile marketing channels, there are relatively older ones that still work better.
Below we’ve listed the three best mobile marketing channels for small businesses that are up-to-date. Note that despite the fact that the channel has the potential to be effective, most of it depends on your specific campaign.Â
Social Media Platforms and Messengers
As much as marketers try to switch to more advanced mobile marketing channels, social media still remains relevant. Obviously, the reason is that everyone has a social media account these days. Moreover, most of them are very active there. This makes it easy for mobile marketers to find their target audience and show them their products.
Social media messengers and other messaging apps, in general, are also growing more popular(mostly because they are free and convenient). People have wireless internet access and cellular connectivity everywhere. This is why using social media and/or messengers is practical for them.Â
Since the number of social media users rapidly grows higher, it is easy to find your target audience and show your advertisement to them. However, you still need to put in a lot of effort to create a successful campaign.Â
Your target audience sees hundreds of advertising messages every day and most probably is used to neglecting them. Therefore, you need to consider your campaign carefully to make it successful. Here are some tips for you to have a working social media marketing campaign.Â
Have a Certain Marketing Plan Before Starting
Planning is fundamental to every social media marketing campaign. Unexpected incidents may still happen, but careful consideration of your campaign will prevent most of them.Â
In order to know how and where to place your ads, make sure you know who your target audience is and what their needs are. For this, you can conduct several surveys and focus groups, research the competition or the market in general. This gives you an overview of the situation in marketing. Use that information to understand what the competition misses and what your customers need.Â
When you have all of this information, you need to plan how your campaign will be executed. Social media gives you different ways of advertising your product. As a small business, you may want to pick the most effective, yet affordable one.Â
According to Buffer Statistics, social media stories are considerably more effective. Hence, try to lean towards them to make your campaign work. You can also find social media influencers to cooperate with them. Influencer marketing in social media can benefit you a lot.Â
Keep Your Social Media Page Active
Advertising on social media is essential, but so is keeping your social media page active at all times. It is the first thing your potential customers see when they get to know about your company.Â
It is crucial to have an active social media page that can provide your customers with information about your company. Posting and making stories constantly is the best way to maintain stable activity. Just be careful not to post too often since that will bore them too.
Posting doesn’t only include promoting your brand on your posts. You can also create interesting giveaways, contests and etc. Or your posts can be some DIY videos or advice related to your expertise for that matter. These will keep your audience engaged.Â
Use Messenger Apps to Create Intimate Relationships with Your Customers
The best advantage of messenger apps is that it allows getting more personal with customers. You can use it this to your advantage to attract new customers.Â
One of the best ways to conduct a marketing campaign through messengers is simply sending promotional messages. However, it’s more complicated than just that. Those messages need to be interactive and appealing. They need to convince the customer to go to your website and check out your products or services.
You can increase the engagement level by making your campaign more interactive. You can also attach a link in your message for customers to click in case they are interested in more information.Â
Marketing Through Content Optimization for Mobile Users
Because of the increasing number of mobile users, one of your main goals should be mobile optimized. Nowadays everyone wants to optimize their content for mobile users. The reason is that mobile devices are practical and accessible. It is convenient for people to do everything, from reading the news to watching movies with mobile devices.Â
This inclination towards mobile devices means that customers are most likely to look for stuff on their mobile devices. Consequently, optimizing content for mobile platforms is one of the top priorities for every mobile marketer. There are three main directions to take for successful optimization.
Consider the Design
The design of your web content is the first thing your customer will notice. So you need to make it as intuitive and straightforward as possible. If your customers can’t find what they are looking for on your website, you have most probably lost them. Thus, consider the design to make it easy for your customers to navigate there.Â
Always test your website and see if there are any issues with the design. The categories and subcategories have to be logically placed. Things that will interest your customer the most better be on the first part of the page.
It can be helpful to inquire about what your customers’ mobile preferences are on a regular basis. This might affect certain design elements, though for the good of your website. The more you optimize your website to be mobile-friendly, the higher the customer satisfaction level will be.Â
Pay Attention to Your Written Content
One of the most essential things to consider when writing content on your website is the heading. It is the first thing that catches the reader's attention. Make it neither too brief nor too long. Typically 5-8 words are the optimal number of words for a headline.Â
When updating content on your website you need to keep in mind that people have short attention spans. The point is that your texts need to be short and contain tons of keywords. This will make the customer skim through the passages and get the message you intend to convey. Needless to say that your content should make sense and be meaningful.Â
Be generous with headings and subheadings. They make the text look much more organized and concise. Using a decent amount of them catches the attention of the customer and helps with the flow of reading.
Don’t Forget Visuals
Visuals are equally important to anything mentioned here. Most of the time your client will be looking at the visuals of your website, without even reading what is around it. Try to make your website visually appealing so that visitors start paying full attention to the content.
Try to also include audiovisual content on your website. Videos tend to be more engaging for customers, not to mention that they give you room to get creative in presenting the features of your products.Â
With that said, you need to keep in mind that too many visuals are not good either. It makes the website slower [in terms of load time], which in turn drives out potential customers. You should intend to provide the best user experience for customers on mobile devices.
SMS Marketing
Text message communications help to establish formal business relationships between a company and its clients. It is the best way to create a direct connection with your clients. So, how to start with SMS marketing.
Choose Keywords
The start of your SMS marketing campaign is with a keyword. Keywords are mostly for your potential customers to opt for your SMS campaigns, yet their function is a little more than that. Many companies neglect the importance of keywords and set a random one without giving much thought to it. Try to associate the keyword with your business, make it short and easy-to-spell.Â
Set an Auto Reply
Most of the SMS providers have auto-reply function built-in. Auto replies help you to inform the customers that they have opted-in for your messages. You can also use them as an additional source of information. To put it simply, your customers can text a keyword to your number and receive an auto-reply with specific information.
Get Started with Your SMS Marketing Campaign
Once you have set the keyword and auto-reply, you can already start your SMS marketing campaign. Follow these rules to ensure you expand your customers and use SMS marketing with its full potential.
About the Guest Author:
Artyom Matevosyan is a content writer for SendSMS.Global, specialized in digital marketing. Having his major in English & Communications, Artyom is passionate about writing. His writing is always backed up by thorough research above anything else—facts first, narratives second.