Using Mobile Marketing To Reach Your Customers

Mobile marketing is a great way to reach customers. Mobile devices allow us to be able to get in touch with customers wherever they are. Here are a few things that you can do to start engaging your customers with mobile marketing.
mobile phoneBuild A Mobile Friendly Website
Small screens can make searching slow, and frustrating. If you haven’t got a mobile friendly site, you run the risk of losing business customers, as they will search another site that is more mobile friendly. HubSpot recommends using the following features when designing a mobile friendly site:

1. Small, low resolution images- This will reduce the time it takes for your page to load.
2. No flash animation or animated GIFs- These images take a lot of time to download on some phones, and just get in the way of the information customers are looking for.
3. Add a click to call button- Make it really easy for customers to call you with minimal effort.
4. Keep it clean, single  column, easy to navigate- Mobile sites should offer customers the information they are looking for with minimal clicks.

Teach Customer Service to TextTexting
Texting is a fast and easy way to get in touch with your customers. Try a program where you allow customers to text you with simple questions. Have a representative from your company ready to answer these text messages to integrate texting into your communication strategy.

Use Video and Photos to Enhance Customer Service
Customers can send you images of the products they are having problems with. These images could be directed to the same number that customers are texting their questions to, as long as it is able to receive images easily. Create trouble-shooting videos for customers that help solve some of their simple problems. If customers are able to solve their own problems, they’ll see your product or company as being reliable and user-friendly.

Make Your App, Mobile Site, and Video Easy to Share
Personal recommendations and networking are key to success in many industries. If your customers can find you and have positive experiences, they will tell their friends. Make sure your videos can easily be shared on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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The Future of Smartphones

“Mobile phones are not just susceptible to accidental spillages in pubs or cafes,” says Dr. Stephen Coulson, CTO of P2i. “Reflecting the increasing role that they play in our lives, this survey also found that on average, phones are taken out in the rain (64%); in the snow (59%) and even into the shower (8%) and sauna (3%) – all posing a risk of the phone being exposed to moisture which can cause long term damage.”

This being said, if water damage is such a common problem with smartphones, why not make them waterproof?

The technology is a nano-scale film barrier which has water repelling properties and is applied to the inside of your electronic gadgets. This technology can also be applied to headphones to keep them protected from rain, sweat or snow.

Waterproof digital cameras are being made, so we know the technology works. The good news? Samsung and Apple are looking to include this technology in the next wave of smartphones.

Mobile users are starting to demand that their smartphones be made waterproof, and so they should!

 

 

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10 Mobile Apps for Small Businesses

Here is a list of 10 must have mobile apps. These apps are great for PR professionals, and can certainly be beneficial to small to medium sized business owners.

Pulse Icon1. Pulse: This app is deigned to allow you to keep track of all of your top news sources. Add your favorite sites and Pulse will create interactive tiles so that you can easily follow all of your top news sources.

2. Instapaper: Save articles and online content that you are Instapaper Iconinterested in to read later. Instapaper saves this content in a format perfect and easy for mobile reading.

Tripit Icon 3. Tripit: Keep all important trip information in one place. Confirmation   numbers, reservation, maps and itineraries are just a few of the things you can put into your Tripit app.

OpenTable4. Open Table: Open Table helps you make online reservations for restaurants. Perfect for when you are meeting with clients and want to make sure you aren’t kept waiting.

Recorder5. Recorder: A good idea can come at any time, and having a recorder makes it easy to keep a record of these ideas. Its easier then a pen and paper.

wordpress6. WordPress: The WordPress app lets you save content and images when you are on the go.

 

Google Analytics7. Analytics Agent: Google Analytics gives you insight into your website traffic and the effectiveness of your marketing. Now you can get it on the go.

GroupMe8. GroupMe, Beluga: Both apps are used for group texting. Group texting can prove useful for teams on the go and is a great way to keep in touch and speed up communications.

Evernote9. Evernote: Great tool for organizing and keeping content. Evernote says: “From creating text and ink notes, to snapshots of whiteboards and wine labels, to clips of webpages, Evernote users can capture anything from their real and digital lives and find it all anytime.”

dropbox10. Dropbox: File sharing without needing to email or transfer USBs. Dropbox allows you to sync your files across multiple computers and the web.

 

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5 Mobile Trends to Watch in 2012

Mobile Trend # 1 – Smartphones to Overtake Other Mobile

There are more smartphones emerging that have the capability to preform even better then they already do now. With this technology advancing and becoming more and more user-friendly, people are turning to their smartphones for more tasks. That being said, as an internet marketer, you should make sure that you are accessible to your customers through their phones as well. They are going to be searching for the products and services that you offer, and you want to be sure that they will find you when they need you.

Read More

Mobile Trend # 2 – Text Messaging Will Rise

“Text messaging will rise to a projected 8 trillion SMS in 2012. This is a rise of about a billion from the 6.9 billion SMS sent in 2011.” — Jichel Stewart, author and CEO of DigiStream Media.

This gives you the perfect opportunity to market your business and communicate to your customers via text messages. Try it by sending funny content or attention grabbing graphics.

Mobile Trend # 3 – Social Networking Site Access

It is easy for people to access their social media sites on their smartphones anywhere and at anytime. The reason for this is simple — they are always with us. There are 350 million active users access Facebook on their smartphones. Right now your customers are using their phones for social media networking and to search for information. What will they find when they search for the products and services you offer?

Mobile Trend # 4 – Location-Based Marketing

Location based marketing gives you the ability to send customers information relevant to a specific location. The best example I have read that uses this type of marketing came from a restaurant. As customers came in and ordered, they were then given freebies, free appetizer or dessert. This coupon was sent to their mobile phones via SMS. Amazing.

Mobile Trend # 5 – More Video on Smartphones

Videos will become a  greater trend on smartphones. Smartphones are already able to capture video so well, forcing marketers to start looking past the boundaries of Youtube and similar video channels. Videos can be viewed anywhere, at any time and by anyone. Companies should look at the convenience of marketing through video for future campaigns.

 

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QR Codes: Connecting Offline to Online

QR codes (quick response codes) are very similar to the standard bar codes that exist on all types of products. The difference? QR codes have the ability to contain a lot more information then traditional bar codes.

QR Codes look like this:

Think of QR codes as the link that connects the paper world to the online world. Instead of putting a website address on a poster, brochure or flyer and hoping that people will remember more than just the www., QR codes direct users right to a landing page. These landing pages offer so much more information and a level of interaction that you cannot get from print advertising.

How do they work?

QR codes are read by mobile phones with a camera and a QR code reader application (these apps are often available for free download). The QR code is scanned and then translated in to information such as a text message, and or mobile web page that is then displayed on your mobile phone.

Look at these examples of how you could use QR codes:

  • Business card that connects to your Social Media page or webpage.
  • A retail store can use the QR code on brochures or flyers to direct people to their website, or provide promotions, coupons or demonstrations.
  • Local businesses can post a QR  code on advertisements that lead to their Google Places page.
  • Realtors can use QR codes on sale signs to show pictures or to give more information about the property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only are QR codes cost-effective, environmentally friendly and measurable, but they are also a really good way for you to differentiate from your competition and be everywhere your customers are!

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Consumers Are Using Smartphones To Find You

Local, online searches are becoming more and more common among consumers.

Especially, as consumers are searching for your business information with their smartphones.

When consumers conduct a search with their smartphones, most of the time, they know what they are looking for. This makes the searches more direct, and the percentage of people contacting the business and buying products and services is increased.

The people searching for you using their smartphones are considered to be qualified leads- they have identified a need for a product or service, and are now just looking where to get it. They are much closer to the buying stage than consumers browsing on their computers.

Ensure your online presence is targeted to your local audience, and properly accessible through a variety of different platforms. Keywords, landing pages and content all need to be clear and concise, as consumers will not be spending much time typing or reading on their phones as they would with a computer.

 

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A List of Mobile Web Browsers

Much more so than with personal computers, the landscape of web browsers for mobile devices is an uneven one.

The best offer a full browsing experience and can display most websites. Others still experience a great deal of frustration in their use and can only display websites specifically optimized for mobile devices.

Apple Safari

  • Display rich websites, zoom, excellent touch-base interface
  • iPhone

BlackBerry Browser

  • Display rich websites, zoom
  • Google Android

Google Android

  • Displays rich websites, zoom, touch screen interface
  • Google Android

Opera Mobile

  • Multiple tabs, zoom-in
  • Windows Mobile, Symbian

Microsoft Internet Explorer for Mobile

  • Standard browser features
  • Windows Mobile

Mozilla Firefox

  • Multiple tabs, PC-syncing, add-on support
  • Nokia Maemo, Windows Mobile 6.0

Skyfire

  • Displays flash and widgets, zoom
  • Windows Mobile, Symbian
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