Mobile Marketing and You
Mobile Marketing. Whether you believe it's relevant for your business now, there is no question it's going to be critical for success within the next five years. From QR codes and SMS marketing to mobile websites and custom-designed apps, there's a lot out there in the digital world that you need to understand for your business's future.
QR Codes
What they are: Short for "Quick Response codes," QR codes have a fast readability and large storage capacity compared to traditional UPC barcodes. Scannable by most phone cameras (provided the user has downloaded a reading application), the codes have become a popular marketing tool.
How to use them: Think of QR codes as a website hyperlink that you can place in the real world. Like a link online, what matters isn't that it exists, but that it delivers clear, useful content that also is interesting. Optimizing a mobile microsite landing page can help ensure readability, but also know that you don't have to link to a standard webpage. Video, phone calls, downloads, coupons and even highlights on a map can all be triggered through QR codes.
Christina "CK" Kerley, B2B marketing specialist and mobile marketing expert for New York-based CKB2B, shared an example of attention-grabbing QR code use. "Racecar driver Danica Patrick features a QR code on her racecar and her racing apparel," she said. "It links her fans to her schedule and her social network presence. ... I see her QR code as her new logo that, instead of a flat text treatment, actually transports users to deeper information and increases the bond between brand and user."
A bit of advice: Size and complexity matter. A code that is too small or contains too much information may have impaired or zero readability. Be sure to test all your codes first to make sure they are functioning properly.
SMS Marketing
What it is: SMS, or "Short Message Service," marketing is marketing through text messages. Users will see a prompt somewhere, such as "text 'Printers' to 55555 to hear about our new equipment," that when entered into a phone will send an automated return message back. SMS messages can be one-offs, such as the example above, or they can function like e-mail newsletter lists, users opting in to get repeat messages about things like sales, new products or other company news. The use of SMS marketing requires a company to purchase a "short code," or shortened phone number set aside by phone companies for marketing purposes.
How to use it: "SMS is a very personal channel—a business is literally asking permission to send text alerts to a user's mobile device," said Kerley. "There are really two critical pieces here: Whatever communications a business is promoting via SMS must be of high value (be that value an incentive or a new product), and the business must not overload the SMS channel—otherwise, users will quickly opt-out of all SMS alerts, and they'll never subscribe again."
She added, "In essence it's all about quality, not quantity."
A bit of advice: Know that you can build multiple lists. You can divide a client base by salespeople, users texting in the specific name of their salesperson to opt-in, placing them on a list controlled by said salesperson. Subject divisions also are possible, a client texting in "jumbo roll" or "tax forms" per their interests.
Mobile sites, Microsites and Apps
What they are: Somewhat unfair to lump together into one category, mobile sites, microsites and apps are similar enough in the sense that they're all platforms for users to interact with a brand in the mobile space. A mobile site is simply a version of a larger site shrunk down and optimized for reading on mobile phones. A microsite is similar to a mobile site, except it's not necessarily a copy of something found on the normal-sized webpage. Small, free-standing webpages, microsites can be anything from a simple online business card to a mobile-only QR code-triggered contest webpage. Apps are more abstract than mobile and micropages, best understood as a programmed game or tool that fills a specific mobile need for your customers. They provide utility beyond what is possible in a website.
How to use them: Mobile and microsites are great for cutting down on site clutter and making your information readable in a portable setting. Apps are useful in highlighting or enhancing services or facets of your business practical in a mobile setting (see sidebar), and can even become a profit center should you choose to charge for downloads.
A bit of advice: Know if you actually need them or not. Depending on your website's complexity and design, it may be perfectly readable as-is on mobile devices. Similarly, be sure that your app delivers sufficient usability that couldn't be recreated easier as a webpage, such as maps, trade show directories or product catalogs.