5 Reasons to use Mobile Marketing

Truth be told: Mobile marketing has been around for quite some time, but Marketers still talk about it as the next big thing. Mobile phones drive a high volume of traffic to websites and own a greater portion of click-through rates. Yet many mobile marketing tools — for instance, SMS or text-message marketing — are highly underutilized. With almost everyone using a mobile phone, why are mobile strategies so important?

1. The open rate for SMS is 98% and the conversion rate is 45%.

The SMS channel can drive ROI with such high open and conversion rates. Companies have found a lot of success with this marketing tool and each day they develop more sophisticated engagement strategies for this platform. If you read our previous blog, on email marketing, you will know that no email marketing campaign will get a 98% open rate. Nor will your Social Media posts have such high visibility. This makes SMS by itself unique.

2. 90% of SMS will be read within 3 minutes of being received.

SMS is a highly disruptive channel, as users almost compulsively read every new message notification that arrives on their phone. The ability to send target specific message to consumers according to their location has been especially effective for retailers.

3. Millennials use mobile messages and are willing to engage with brands through this channel.

Mobile messages, like SMS, are a great way to engage with Millennials as this is the preferred method of communication with their friends and family. Mobile messages are almost an organic way to provide customers with the relevant information that they are looking for.

When it comes to mobile, you have a lot of options on how to engage with your audience. It can range from SMS to push notifications. Companies are increasingly aware of other messaging platforms like the Facebook chat, WhatsApp, and others.

4. Mobile messages need to be useful and not promotional.

Restaurants are using it to let people know their table is ready. Shipping companies use it to keep individuals updated on the status of their packages. Your ride sharing app lets you know your ride arrived through push notifications. There are many creative ways to use mobile messaging as a brand building tool.

5. Mobile messaging can be a doubled edged sword.

Mobile messages are inherently disruptive as outlined above. This makes them uniquely useful but equally dangerous. We can bet you have disabled push notifications for at least one app in your phone. Being selective and communicating minimally is extremely important in this channel.

Messages should avoid interrupting someone’s dinner, sleep, or any other important daily activity. It is definitely hard to time the right moment when companies are unaware of someone’s schedule. Therefore, being mindful and using common sense can go a long way when using this mobile marketing.