Mobile Marketing The New Game In Town

Professor Andreas Marcus Kaplan defines mobile marketing as “any marketing activity conducted through an ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device.”

Today, mobile marketing is not only gaining momentum among businesses, but also is now included as part of the marketing program at some schools.

However, it is important to understand the principles of marketing before any foray in mobile marketing can be appreciated, let alone be undertaken or executed in any meaningful way.

That said, one cannot afford to ignore mobile marketing in particular and moreover digital marketing in general.

The fact is more and more consumers are turning to mobile technology for their daily consumption of information, news, entertainment, social interaction, and purchases, among many other menu items that they seek to satisfy their needs.

According to comscore.com, the days of desktop dominance are over as mobile has now become the leading digital platform.

It noted that the total activity on smartphones and tablets now accounts for an astounding 60 percent of digital media time spent in the U.S. while desktop-based digital media consumption makes up the remaining 40%.

Furthermore, the website noted that app usage is primarily responsible for driving mobile’s relentless growth amounting to a total of 52 percent digital media engagement.

It also claimed that 7 out of every 8 minutes of media consumption take place on mobile devices.

On smartphones alone, app activity is given at 88% usage versus 82% on tablets.

The truth is mobile technology is really a game changer, and marketers are now seeking ways of capitalizing on the opportunities that this new platform provides.

It covers a range of areas that include but not limited to the following:

Short Message Service (SMS)

This channel has become very important and more and more companies are using short text messages to communicate directly with both internal and external customers. SMS messages are read within four minutes, making them highly convertible and marketers are not losing sight of this fact.

Multimedia Message Service (MMS)

This consists of timed slideshow of images, text, audio and video. Many marketers use this channel for branding and positioning campaigns.

Push Notification

This involves notifications shown on the top of a mobile screen. The application allows for easy direct communication with end users.

App-based marketing

The widespread use of smart phones has fostered tremendous growth in app usage. Consequently, mobile marketers have increasingly taken advantage of smartphone apps as a marketing resource. It allows for direct engagement, payment, and targeted advertising.

Mobile web market

Advertising on web pages geared for mobile devices has also seen significant growth over the years. Companies such as Google, Yahoo, and other major mobile content providers have been selling advertising placement on their properties for a long period of time now.