From the top researchers of all things mobile, print, and digital comes a compilation of mobile marketing facts and best practices.
Mobile marketing is here and in the year 2012, it is going full force. With over 280 million Americans using mobile devices, communication to your customers sits directly in their pockets and purses. Half of these mobile users own smartphones, giving marketers even more access and ability to send rich content to these portable devices.
Let’s look beyond the sheer number of mobile users as to why mobile marketing will have such a huge impact.
What types of people are using mobile devices?
We tend to think that only younger generations rely on their mobile device for more than just making phone calls because of all the generational studies available. It’s quite the contrary. Over half of mobile Internet users are over the age of 35.
Both men and women are equally taking advantage of mobile browsing.
Urban and suburban residents are nearly twice as likely to own a smartphone as those living in rural areas, and employment status is also strongly correlated with smartphone ownership. A recent study by Forrester predicted that by 2016, 350 million workers will use smartphones.
What are smartphones being used for?
While most mobile users tend to text, send photos, and email with their smartphones, many are relying wholeheartedly on their mobile device for at least one Web-based activity.
According to a recent study by Prosper Mobile Insights, 7 in 10 smartphone or tablet users (69.3%) conduct at least one Web-based activity solely with their device:
- 45.3% admit to mobile-only Internet searches.
- 42.3% connect with friends on Facebook sans stationary computers or other Internet-capable devices.
- 29.6% say they conduct all their online banking on a mobile device.
Are marketers fully taking advantage of the various channels?
On top of these activities, a whopping half of smartphone and tablet users (51.1%) say they now check their email using only their mobile device. This is huge, but many companies are missing out on a major opportunity to connect with smartphone users. According to Econsultancy’s latest Cross-Channel Marketing Report, only 29% of respondents are optimizing their emails for mobile. This means that potential messages are getting lost when viewers immediately close or delete an email that is not easily readable.
What about text messaging, or SMS? Nearly 75% of mobile users are familiar with text messaging, yet only 26% of companies who have a mobile strategy are implementing this channel.
Like any form of media communication in today’s market, mobile is not meant to be a standalone operation.
In the beginning of 2012, with partnership with Ipsos MediaCT, Google conducted a survey of 1,000 online adults (18-64 years of age) who identified themselves as using a smartphone to access the Internet.
- More than four out of 10 (43%) smartphone owners used their device to search in response to television ads at least monthly.
- Nearly as many, 40%, searched in response to ads they saw in stores,
- 31% in response to magazine ads
- 24% in response to poster advertisements.
This clearly shows the impact mobile marketing can have on the current commercial landscape. With consumers taking the process of viewing media on-the-go, interactivity is the sweet spot of successful marketing. Even as a printing company, we see the potential power mobile has in the future of all printed promotional pieces.
How do mobile and print work together?
There are several ways to make a printed piece more interactive, whether it is a poster advertisement, packaging, magazine ad, or a direct mail piece. QR codes have long been a topic of discussion for us, especially as half of all smartphone users have at one point scanned a QR code. What is even more compelling is that 18% of those who have scanned a QR code has made a purchase after scanning.
Augmented reality and mobile barcodes, while slow to adoption, are being explored as other options to make the content on a printed piece more fun and personalized, giving viewers an experience with paper that they have never before experienced.
By including SMS and Snaptags on a printed campaign, even non-smartphone users can have a chance to take advantage of offers presented by brands.
There are four major rules that marketers can never forget when making their printed campaign integrated with mobile:
- You must offer something of value. If there is no motivation to interact, more than likely, no one will interact.
- There must be creativity. Design and layout will draw the eyeballs of your viewers to whatever it is you have to offer.
- Make it streamlined. All mobile endeavors and integrated pieces must be seamless and smooth, or the end-user will immediately lose interest. If your QR code takes 5 minutes to scan, no one will sit around and wait to see what it is you have to offer.
- Have a strong call to action. Make the viewer react to what you have to say.
To find out more about the future of mobile marketing, here are some resources:
www.marketingprofs.com
www.infotrends.com
http://mashable.com/2012/05/19/mobile-marketing-infographic-smartphones/
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/get-ready-for-1-billion-smartphones-by-2016-forrester- says/
http://blog.selligent.com/blogs/cross-channel-campaign/en-cross-channel-marketing-mobile-not-well- integrated-yet