Can you guess how many people across the globe use smartphones? The figure varies from one source to another, but most would agree that it’s well over 60% of the total world population. With 860 million users, China has the highest number of smartphone users, followed by India with slightly above 700 million users, and the United States with over 310 million smartphone users. Since so many people use their mobile devices to browse, shop, and engage with products and services, small businesses have a golden opportunity to connect with customers directly on their phones.
Mobile Marketing, Simplified
Mobile marketing can be defined as the practice of reaching consenting customers on their mobile devices―especially smartphones―through various channels like websites, social media, SMS, apps, and more. Listed below are a few things that makes mobile marketing particularly powerful for small businesses, such as:
- For small town enterprises with a minimal advertising budget that can’t afford big-budget TV or print campaigns, it offers a highly cost-effective solution to reach target audiences.
- It allows local businesses serving specific neighborhoods or regions to target people in their immediate vicinity in ways that no other marketing format can.
- It allows businesses to establish direct, real-time, one-on-one communication with customers, helping build strong relationships and brand loyalty.
Tried and True Mobile Strategies For Maximum Impact
- Optimize Your Website for Mobile: A ‘Statista’ survey found that 8% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. A website that’s not optimized for mobile screen sizes is missing out on a huge portion of potential customers. If you’re wondering why responsive website design matters, it’s important to note that major search engines (i.e. Google) uses mobile-first indexing, meaning they favor sites that can adjust themselves to different screen sizes [from desktops to smartphones and tablets]. Boost your site’s visibility across search engines and make it easier for potential customers to find your business by optimizing it for all mobile screen dimensions.
- Leverage SMS Marketing: Whether it’s regarding a click-through rate, conversion rate, read rate, or ROI, SMS marketing outperforms email marketing in almost all important metrics. With open rate exceeding 90%, it guarantees that your consenting customers see your promotional texts and are more likely to act on it. How does SMS marketing help business? For instance, with flash sales, all you have to do is send a text message to consenting customers with an exclusive discount or offer that expires soon in order to create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to take action immediately. It can also be used to send appointment reminders and personalized promotions which is quite useful from a consumer standpoint.
- Embrace Social Media Stories and Reels: Each day, an average American spends 2 hours and 16 minutes on popular social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc., consuming short-form videos. Since they are visually engaging and optimized for mobile screens, they are great for capturing ones attention. When it comes to applying social media stories and reels to your business’ marketing, they can be leveraged to promote products and services to a broader audience. If they’re creative and contain depth, they can be used to build trust and announce flash sales or limited-time offers that can spark immediate action. So, when in doubt, make sure to leverage these platforms to boost engagement, drive sales, and create a more personal connection with your customers.
- Use Location-Based Marketing: For businesses with a physical location, local-based marketing is an affordable and effective solution to help business owners deliver relevant offers and promotions to nearby consenting customers. When you use location-based marketing properly, you’re able to drive foot traffic, increase in-store sales, and enhance customer engagement. In order to do so, businesses can run geo-targeted ads on platforms like Google and Facebook to target users based on their specific geographical location. Investing in these ad campaigns and utilizing geofencing allows you to focus on targeted offers for local users who are within a virtual boundary around the store.
- Launch a Mobile App (If Applicable): It goes without question that the level of personalization, convenience, and engagement an app can provide is unrivaled. By streamlining the customer experience through an easily accessible platform that offers products and services, purchasing becomes effortless and helps increase sales. When it applies to your business’ market, having a dedicated mobile app is especially beneficial for small enterprises with a loyal customer base. If this is the case for you, to make the most out of your mobile app, we suggest running a loyalty program, — offering personalized rewards, discounts, exclusive deals, and referral programs — to encourage repeat customers and motivate them to stay engaged with your brand.
- Collect and Showcase Reviews from Satisfied Customers: One of the most pivotal ways to be seen as a trustworthy business is to have reviews from satisfied customers. This positive feedback can be used as ‘social proof’ to foster positive public perception and encourage more people to choose your business. For those who don’t know, social proof is a psychological phenomenon that induces individuals to copy the actions of others in specific social settings. If you’re wondering how to leverage business reviews, we advise you to display positive reviews and ratings from satisfied customers in prominent positions on your mobile-optimized website. Such efforts can help new customers feel confident in their decision to engage with your business, and you’re more likely to rank high on SERPs for search terms with location qualifiers like ‘nearby’ and ‘near me’.
- Utilize Mobile-Friendly Email Campaigns: Even as time goes on and new technology platforms develop, email campaigns are still powerful in driving results, especially when they are optimized for mobile devices. Since most people are still checking their email on their devices, email campaigns that are mobile-friendly can make a huge impact. If you decide to go utilize this form of marketing, remember to keep your subject lines short, use single-column layouts, and strategically place the CTA button for convenient access.
Wrapping Up
It’s evident that optimizing your website for mobile devices, leveraging SMS marketing, embracing social media short-form videos, using location-based marketing, launching a mobile app [if applicable], record and showcase positive customer reviews, and utilizing mobile-friendly email campaigns are all strategies you can use to leverage your business across mobile platforms. By doing so, you’re able to connect with customers directly and more consistently, due to the fact that most people always have their phone on them. When executed properly, these steps can boost engagement and drive conversions rates into clicks, leads, or sales. Rather than only have your website accessible by desktop, it’s better to have your marketing target a variety of platforms for optimal success. If you’re unsure of how to handle these steps on your own, contact our professionals at Outreach Digital Marketing for help with your local marketing strategies!
