Remember when phones were made just to call people? Well those days are long gone. With the arrival of iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries, the functionality of phones is quickly expanding. People can text, look and take pictures, browse the Internet and share anything they find. With all of these advancements, it’s important for inbound marketers to keep up. Inbound Marketing University’s Chapter 16: Social & Mobile Marketing inbound marketers an inside look at how customers are engaging with phones and how business can engage in these channels to reach them.
Short message service, or texting, is the most common phone activity across all ages, and businesses shouldn’t be afraid to use this function. That doesn’t necessarily mean sending out a messages with offers to your customers or leads. It may simply mean creating an engaging experience with simple instructions. For example, American Red Cross had people send the word “HAITI” to a certain number to make an automatic donation of $10. The campaign was met with unbelievable success. Not only did they receive over $35 million in donations, but 80% of those donors were people who had never donated to the American Red Cross before! They managed to reach more people through a popular and more convenient communication channel that gathered large benefits for a great cause. Using text messaging in a unique way can likewise help out a business.
Mobile phones are equipped with 3G and 4G data packages, and they have enabled people to take their Internet on the move. Users search and interact with sites looking for quick facts and/or posts about businesses and events; however, it Although it can be frustrating for customers if sites are muddled and confusing because of the limited screen space, smaller viewer window, or excessive copy. To make the page more navigable and to cater to peoples’ need for quick information, IMU suggests converting the site to a different format specifically for phones that would be more compatible with the smaller screen. The format will be more appealing to the customer, and it’s all about making the customer happy.
A final idea that IMU proposed for social mobile marketing was to utilize QR codes. Have you ever seen one of these?
Well, for those of you who haven’t, its one of the newest innovative marketing tools. You simply scan the code with your phone and it leads you to a page. This page can be done in a number of ways. Some businesses lead the user directly to their business site or another landing page that gives more information about the event/service/product that is associated with the code. Others get a little more creative. Some direct the user to an interactive activity. Others lead them to a deal for the event/service/product. Any number of ways have made it an extremely valuable tool for marketers and customers alike!
Text messaging, converting websites to more phone-friendly formats, and QR codes are just a few things that can be done for mobile phone social marketing. Leave Katie questions and comments below to hear more options!