5 Secrets to a Successful Mobile Marketing Campaign

May 17 2011

-Brandon Eley

Mobile marketing has grown rapidly in the last three years, primarily due to the staggering growth in smartphone adoption in the United States. According to ComScore, at the end of 2010 almost half of all mobile users were mobile media users (they browsed the web, downloaded applications, downloaded content, etc). Four of the top 5 devices in 2010 were smartphones, and as smartphone and data plan prices continue to drop, even more mobile users will have access to the mobile web, applications and other advanced features.

With this rapid adoption, mobile marketing growth is exploding as well–the mobile marketing industry will reach $1 billion globally in 2012. How can you leverage mobile marketing to drive customer engagement, increase revenues, and extend your existing marketing campaigns?

1. Research Your Target Market

While mobile marketing isn’t restricted to only smartphone users, some methods (such as search, display, and app advertising) are primarily targeted to smartphone users, while tactics such as SMS marketing can be targeted to all mobile users. Before selecting the advertising medium for your mobile campaign, it is important to research your target demographic.

Even the most brilliant location-based marketing campaign using Foursquare or Facebook Places would be lost on the majority of age groups. Location based social networks are still very new, and are used by less than 1% of the general population. The users also seem to be predominantly young adults — over 65% of Foursquare users are 25-44 years old.

Similarly, although QR codes are gaining in popularity, they require a smartphone with a camera and a specialized application to read and decode the two-dimensional barcode. A marketing message utilizing QR codes would completely miss the mark with anyone using a feature phone.

This is not to discourage you from utilizing mobile marketing in your campaigns, but it is important to match the medium with your target demographic. There are numerous sources for industry data on mobile phone and app usage including Forrester, Google and ComScore. Use this data in the early planning stages of your campaign to ensure you are reaching your intended audience with your marketing message.

2. Clearly Identify Goals & Success Metrics

Defining key performance indicators (KPI's) is standard practice for any marketing campaign. The old saying “I know half of my marketing works, I just don’t know which half” doesn’t apply anymore. Traditional forms of marketing may have been difficult to adequately measure, especially for smaller campaigns, but many different metrics of online and mobile marketing campaigns can be tracked.

What is the overall goal of the campaign? Brand awareness? Leads? Purchases of a product or service? Traffic to a landing page or website? These are all very different goals. Before you can measure success (or failure), you have to be on the same page. Determine what the KPIs are for your campaign first, then determine the metrics that represent success or failure for those (there can be more than one).

3. Utilize Traditional Marketing

A mobile marketing campaign can be successful on its own, but its real power is in how well it pairs with traditional marketing to leverage the many advantages of online marketing with traditional mediums such as print, out-of-home (OOH), and television. Mobile marketing gives advertisers the ability to add an interactive experience to a print advertisement, poster, park bench or television ad. Users can request more information, join your list, or enter a contest simply by scanning a QR code or sending an SMS message.

Traditional marketing gives you access to mobile users while they are mobile. Print and OOH advertising can put your brand, product or promotion in front of users while they are on the bus, waiting for an appointment at the doctor's office, or walking through the mall.

4. Make Data Collection a Priority

One of the biggest advantages of online marketing (including mobile marketing) is the available metrics you can track. Once you've determined your key performance indicators, be sure to track them so you can report on the effectiveness of the campaign. You can track text messages sent and received, unsubscribes, QR codes scanned, landing page views and unique visitors, online leads, phone calls, and more.

To collect all available data, you may need to use multiple tools. When tracking mobile landing pages, be sure to include server-side tracking scripts if possible, as many mobile phones (even some smartphones) ship with JavaScript disabled by default. Google Analytics offers mobile-specific tracking code that can be used instead of or in addition to their JavaScript tracking code.

Your data may be spread out across multiple tools such as a web analytics package, SMS marketing platform, and a mobile display advertising platform, consider exporting the raw data from these sources and combining in Microsoft Excel or Google Docs spreadsheets to show an overall picture of how your campaign performed.

5. Follow-up to Build Relationships

Whether your campaign's primary goal was to drive sales, build brand awareness, or generate leads, the campaign is only the beginning. Use the opportunity to start (or continue to build) a relationship. Ask for permission to contact participants in the future, and by other communication methods. Someone may have found you by scanning a QR code, but may also be interested in receiving emails from you. Make it simple to sign up to receive additional information.

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If experience is the best teacher, than Brandon Eley is definitely well-schooled. His natural talent for graphic design led to his first job designing corporate presentations and print materials. Then, barely out of his teens, he and a partner launched an online retail business in the then untapped market for large-sized men’s shoes. Their need for an e-commerce enabled website led to his trial by fire indoctrination into the world of web design, online retailing, and Internet marketing. His early endeavors continue to pay off, as his specialty shoe business, www.2bigfeet.com, is celebrating its tenth year in business, remaining among the top three in its market niche.

Honing the expertise he gained from his personal endeavors into a web development business for small to medium-sized online retailers, Brandon put himself through school at LaGrange College, all the while creating a reputation for developing websites that help businesses succeed. In 2006, his consulting firm, EleyTech, was acquired by Kelsey Advertising & Design, and Brandon became the agency’s Interactive Director.

Currently credited with pioneering work in the development of mobile websites, Brandon never stops learning. He’s considered a leader among his peers and was named the “2008 E-Commerce Guru of the Year” by SitePoint.com, an online community of website professionals and developers with more than 300,000 members worldwide. A frequent contributor to SitePoint.com, Brandon is currently co-authoring a book with the working title: “The Art and Science of Online Marketing.” He has been certified by Google as a Qualified Advertising Professional and is a member of the Information Architecture Institute.