How to Maximize Mobile Marketing’s Myriad Opportunities

When speaking at the 2013 Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain Summit, renowned game designer Warren Spector commented on his industry’s future by saying, “I want content that is relevant to my life, that is relevant to me.” That quote can prove applicable to numerous fields where overseers look to obtain and sustain interest in their offerings, all the while realizing the amount of effort such endeavors require.

More than four years after Spector uttered that direct advice to his peers and indirect recommendation to likewise creative individuals, mobile marketing has come to count as an area where practitioners constantly need to consider the relevance of their approaches, the depth of their knowledge and the capability of their competitors to secure clicks, conversions and impressions. With smartphones and tablets accounting for, according to a 2014 comStore study, 60 percent of end-users’ digital media consumption, opportunities to become lasting presences in their lives appear endless. But the desire for distinction comes with peaks and valleys.

Print+Promo pressed the right buttons to connect with John Foley Jr., president and CEO of Grow Socially and interlinkONE, Wilmington, Mass.; and Anthony Mongeluzo, president of Pro Computer Service, Moorestown, N.J., and partner with WeSpeak Easy, Philadelphia, to determine how print and promo professionals can become mobile marketing mavens.

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES

A Pew Research Center investigation determined that 95 percent of Americans own some sort of cellphone, with 77 percent owning smartphones—the latter statistic representing a 35-percent bump since 2011. Given the country’s population and comScore’s Cross-Platform Future in Focus 2017 finding that mobile matters have driven total digital media usage up 40 percent over the last four years, one cannot deny that mobile marketing will continue to be one of the primary aids in helping end-users acquire their wants quickly.

“It is a must,” Foley said of appreciating the medium, stressing that the timeliness of data connection puts everyone at someone’s mercy. “So, you need to build accordingly. That means lightweight web development. Move away from written content, and move into visual content. Visual works great for mobile!”

While the aforementioned percentages make it easy to theorize that anyone can turn a profit through mobile marketing, the numbers can prove perplexing, too, as they can lead any Tom, Dick or Harry to fashion himself an expert in creating a stellar campaign. Through nearly two decades in the field, Mongeluzo has found many well-intentioned figures have fallen prey to desires for instant gratification.

“There’s way more to mobile marketing than thinking of yourself as cool because you’re getting on people’s devices,” he said. “You have to be ready to take your time, have a consistent budget and pay attention to data as if your whole existence depends on it. In a way, because the world at large is often your competition, that strict observation of keywords and campaigns is going to make or break you.”

With respect to pacing oneself, Mongeluzo added that developing a good strategy requires six months. Given his knowledge of dwindling attention spans, Foley confided that although consumers usually are the ones left puzzled when items do not load properly, it is the information presenters who must look inward.

“I feel most are still trying to get their heads around inbound and content marketing, never mind mobile,” he confided. “... I think there is a lack of exactly what may be working in mobile marketing and what is not. It really depends on your business. For example, if you are not in retail for a business that offers coupons, starting with mobile coupons would obviously not be a good idea. Another example would be taking on a large, ambitious mobile augmented reality campaign just to get started.”

ACHIEVING RESULTS

No matter one’s level of mobile expertise, everyone can profit from pointers. Consumers will likely never look to slow their intake of information, so how does anyone stand out when disseminating details, and what role has mobile marketing come to assume in the give-take-and-look-for-more world that we inhabit?

“A lot of it is perception,” Mongeluzo stated. “I have been doing this work for most of my adult life, and, yes, tastes certainly change, but that has to be a motivator rather than an intimidator.”

For folks to excel, they must, according to Mongeluzo, strive in their campaigns to give away something for free, have a call to action on their page and include direct links to goodies such as promotional products.

“Mobile marketing is definitely a data-heavy endeavor, so those who are most successful are the ones who tirelessly collect information and respect trends,” he said. “In the long run, maybe they are also those who dare to be trendsetters.”

“Short-and-sweet messaging,” Foley said of how mobile purveyors can distinguish themselves. “Use graphics, and stay true to the idea that less is more. Graphics are key. Simple messaging and multiple swipes to get to your point is OK, but become text-heavy, and you lose on mobile with the wrong style [of] marketing.”

ASSESSING THE FUTURE

With the fourth quarter nearly upon us, the two authorities rate this year as a burgeoning success, [and] holiday shopping outreach is sure to intensify marketers’ planning and execution. Noting that mobile shows no signs of dropping its call to be a chief means for end-users to make purchases, Mongeluzo feels people have two choices—hop on the train or let it run them over. Holding that 2017’s winners have been platform overseers as mobile continues to overshadow more traditional marketing tactics, he suggested that people align themselves with respected and accomplished colleagues to add oomph to their campaigns, with multiple ventures needed to make an impact regardless of someone’s tenure in the industry and familiarity with a given audience.

“I think this year has stood out in some areas, like coupons and mobile payments,” Foley assessed. “... I also think we will see a resurgence in QR codes, believe it or not. I know Apple iOS 11 has been in the news with an idea that allows for built-in QR scans through your camera.”

He and Mongeluzo hailed mobile marketing as boons in their own lives, too, with the former suggesting that businesses should continue to strive for faster load times.

“Test across devices, and analyze,” Foley said. “I think text messaging is still untouched in some areas of business, and some are thinking folks won’t give up their phone. But, in fact, it’s too late; others are giving it up for them. Text campaigns are great marketing tools. Develop a strategy, and get at it.”

“Companies have gotten so good at targeting the public [through mobile marketing] that it blows me away,” Mongeluzo gushed. “I’m not worried over how much they know about me. It’s evolutionary. I want to see what people suggest to me, and that’s true of many consumers. It’s great for advertisers to be so adept at predicting what we’re going to want.”