Every where you go, you can see someone using their cell phone. Many times they are not using it to talk, but to search the Internet, download an application or use a social networking site. Why not use that knowledge to grow your business? Here are some mobile marketing tips that are sure to get you going.
Keep setting expectations and keeping yourself safe, legally. After a person opts-in, or even during the process, inform them of how often they can get text messages from you. Also, give them an “opt-out” option if the messages are too frequent or if they want to avoid possible message charges. Always include the line, “standard rates may apply.”
Be short and concise with your SMS messages for your mobile marketing campaign. Messages are limited to 160 characters, so put some thought into how to convey your information clearly yet briefly. If you use abbreviations in your messages, make sure they are commonly accepted and make sense to your customers.
Try not to add files to your message. If possible, you should only include a link. Adding large files, like pictures, to a message will only frustrate the customer, because you are adding to the download time. Also, you may be costing them extra money just to be able to view what you have sent.
Ask customers for their cell phone numbers. The easiest way to do this is with your current email subscribers. When they fill out the form to subscribe, you can ask them to add their phone numbers in, for any alerts or special deals. This is a quick method of gaining new customers for mobile marketing.
Know your hours. You do not want to be messaging customers while they are sleeping or having dinner. Try to avoid bothering them on holidays or Sundays, unless it is important. Your customer does not always want to be dealing with your texts, so make sure you are only texting at good times.
Make sure that your messages are targeted to their purpose in mobile marketing. You won’t have any room for meaningless words here. If the customer cannot understand your message in a few words, then it isn’t even worth contacting them in the first place. You need to be very clear here as to your purpose.
If you are going to be using a QR code, you want to make sure to keep that image very easy to scan. People will not take the time to figure it out. You can use a free QR code generator online that will also keep track of how many people are scanning your image.
Make unsubscribing to your mobile ad simple and easy to improve your image with the customer. As difficult as it may be to make unsubscribing easy, your recipients will view you as a reasonable and worthy merchant whom they can trust. Chances are very good that anyone who unsubscribes was never going to purchase anyway so you save yourself some pointless promotion too!
Get permission before starting to add cell phone numbers to your database. Getting permission means you have found someone who is interested in your service or product. If you fail to get permission, you are sending messages that will likely never even be read. Sending messages without permission can also be a great way to ruin your reputation.
Use scannable QR codes to introduce your brand to customers. Link a QR code with a discount or coupon that is only found on the mobile application, product information, short video or another relevant item of value to the user. This is effective at getting customers familiar with your brand.
You should know that location is essential when it comes to mobile marketing. Mobile marketing has a distinct differential; it knows where you physically are. With mobile marketing there are location-based options available that is not currently available with any other type of marketing. Think about ways you could use the location-aware advantages of mobile marketing to enhance your business.
Take the time needed to learn how social media works, and how mobile marketing works right along with it. You need to do your research or extract the knowledge from those who already have it. Hire someone if you need to and it will pay off in the long run.
Build your legal marketing database the right way. Don’t just harvest mobile phone numbers or buy databases. Have your targets subscribe to the marketing texts you are about to send. It can be done by asking them to send you a text with a specific message such as texting a keyword like SHOP to your short code (for eaxample 22345). This way you have proof they want to hear from you.
QR codes, which are scanned by devices or smartphone scanners, make an effective hook for your campaign. Look for ways to incorporate these throughout any products or physical ad materials. They are rather new and very engaging to customers, especially if you offer mobile specific coupons or media from scanning the QR code.
Use high quality short codes in your mobile marketing efforts! This will ensure that you create your own brand of the short code you use, and you won’t be sharing with another company that could easily utilize the system abusively, causing you issues in the long run. You will encounter a higher price, but that is the price of doing mobile marketing well.
When you send people to a link, do not expect them to perform complex actions such as creating a user’s account or reading a lot of text. Make sure you redirect your customers to a website that will provide them with useful and concise information that they can easily read on their mobile devices.
You realize how many people are using cell phones, blackberries, or any type of mobile device and how much you can use that to help your business grow. Apply all the advice that you have learned in this article to really make your business launch quickly to the next level. Use the mobile market to save your business.
