There is no denying it. The mobile marketing revolution is here. Sales of iPhones and Androids continue to escalate as Google Vice President Andy Rubin says more than 160,000 Android devices are sold and activated every day. More and more people are accessing their information on the move. But how prepared is your small business to deal with the changes?
And what does this actually mean for your small business marketing?
Smaller MUST be Better
It’s about compressing your message. On mobile devices you have a very limited screen size, unlike a normal PC which can be filled with lots and lots of text. You need to take a little text, and some little punchy images, and create a bigger impact than you did before. This could be great for marketing and cut out a lot of fluff. Check your website on a mobile device RIGHT NOW. You may be thinking – but I don’t look at websites on my mobile – well, you better start because your potential future clients probably are. I got a message the other day. A guy sent me a message saying “I was just reading your Abnormal website and blogs on my Blackberry, and it looked really cool”. How does your website look on a mobile device?
Maybe this is something you should start considering?
Check out your website with these cool tools for testing your website’s mobility: iPhone Tester
Mobi-Ready
The mobiReady testing tool evaluates mobile-readiness using industry best practices and standards.
The free report provides both a score (from 1 to 5) and in-depth analysis of pages to determine how well your site performs on a mobile device, and gives you some mobiles, which will show you what your site will look like on that phone:
Technology Focussed
How technology-friendly is your website? For WordPress website uses, there is a plugin you MUST have if you want your website to be ready to be viewed on a mobile device. The plugin is called Mobile Press.
This plugin that will render your WordPress blog on mobile handsets, with the ability to use customized themes. Also built into MobilePress is the ability to track your mobile sites analytics.
MobilePress is SEO enabled and detects Google, Yahoo and MSN mobile search bots. These mobile search engine bots will see the mobile version of your blog and get your mobile site indexed in the mobile search results.
Applications
A new trend has started, where businesses are creating their own “Applications” for mobile devices. It originally started with games, and since there has been an explosion of 100,000s of games that are downloadable to play on a mobile device.
With the popularity of the iPhone and Android devices, this trend is expanding to other applications. If you want to get an idea of exactly what applications are becoming available, visit Get Jar, and you will see various categories of applications including Games, Education, Social and Messaging, Entertainment, Finance, Food, Health and Lifestyle.
Imagine if you have an Accouting Business or you are a Financial Planner, and you had a tailor-made mobile application that your clients can download onto their device for managing their finances. Wouldn’t that make you stand out?
What applications could be created to benefit your business and your customers?
Social Media Networking
The Social Media Movement has arrived – Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Linked In, Foursquare, Digg, Stumbleupon….. the list goes on and on. The growth in using social media is expected to continue. And all these social media are easily available on mobile devices. Is your business prepared for what customers and potential customers may be saying about you to all their business and personal friends?
Uptake of Geolocation Services
The booming use of Geo-location applications like Foursquare and Gowalla, are creating some amazing opportunities for small businesses. These applications allow a new kind of interaction between the business and the client. Your clients are talking about you – shouldn’t you be talking back?
If you are a cafe, restaurant or bar – you can build into the front page of your website, an application that shows the clients “Checking In” to your business and what they are saying.
This is what business is all about. It used to be done with surveys and focus groups, and now the technology has arrived to make the feedback INSTANTANEOUS. This makes these kinds of advances so important for small businesses to keep track of.
State of the Market…ing
A few websites and businesses are already going with the flow. Here are a few examples:
Trip Advisor
Trip Advisor for iPhone has excellent features including:
- Browse millions of reviews & opinions of hotels, restaurants & attractions, and add your own
- Find cheap flights fast
- Get directions using GPS for driving, walking, or public transportation
- Use iPhone’s built-in location finder to find options near you or any address you enter
- Find it all fast with our simple, intuitive interface
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino – Las Vegas
Only in Vegas, would they pioneer such an awesome app, that has received great feedback from customers – Immerse yourself in the exotic world of Mandalay Bay, in the official app from MGM MIRAGE.
This interactive concierge app offers news, menus, directions, tickets, weather, special offers, advice, videos and more. With over 300 dynamic content entries and over 500 photos (and growing) this is a great way to enhance your visit and explore Mandalay Bay on the go.
Car Dealer: ALJ Toyota Saudi
A Car Dealer may not be the first kind of business you think of when you think of a business iPhone Application. But this one has truly embraced the concept. This means any kind of business can have their own mobile application.
If you download this iPhone application, you get these features:
- Call on a Toll Free Number
- Email your suggestions, inquiries, or complaints
- Book your vehicle service appointment
- Calculate your installments
- Get direct access to the company website
- You can also receive notifications with offers and promotions
Is your Business Next?
How is your business set up leading into the next technology decade?
RT @abnormalmarket: How Mobile is your Marketing? http://www.abnormalmarketing.com/2010/06… @jeanettecates #blog30
Wow Fiona, that’s something that we forget to incorporate into our new online business & websites. Or should I say me. Thanks for sharing, awesome blog. You continue to inspire me
Lauren McEachran´s last [type] ..Jumping Into A Relationship?
Twitter: fionamceachran
June 27, 2010 at 12:34 am | Permalink
@Lauren McEachran, Hi Lauren, I’m so glad I continue to help you. I know of a lot of small businesses are NOT thinking about this, or are taking too long to think about this. But I don’t think they should be waiting any longer.
Twitter: joycerhansen
June 25, 2010 at 10:20 am | Permalink
Fiona,
Thanks so much for this information. I’m going to start by adding Mobile Press. Your information is straight forward and easy to follow. I’ll be back for more info from you.
Twitter: fionamceachran
June 27, 2010 at 12:32 am | Permalink
@Joyce Hansen, Hi Joyce, Thanks for your feedback, and good luck with Mobile Press.
RT @abnormalmarket: How Mobile is your Marketing? – Social Media, Andriod and iPhone Apps and more http://www.abnormalmarketing.com/2010/06… #blog30
Twitter: SheilaAtwood
June 26, 2010 at 10:27 am | Permalink
Fiona,
This is a really great article. It has been my experience that most people do not realize how really big this is.
I mean I am one of those that uses my cell phone to talk to someone. I text because my kids do.
But we are miss out if we do not look at what is really happening with mobile devices…witness the iPhone G4 craze.
Over $800 million was spent on mobile phone ads in 2009. That figure is predicted to rise to $33,330 million by 2013.
GMC has plans to pull all of it’s advertising off of TV and us mobile advertising.
Thanks for a great article. I will be using this information with some of my offline clients, to show them just how really big this is.
The world our pocket! It is amazing!
Sheila Atwood´s last [type] ..Making Money On The Internet – Cell Phone Ads
Twitter: fionamceachran
June 27, 2010 at 12:38 am | Permalink
@Sheila Atwood, Hi Sheila, Yes, I feel the same. I must admit, I’m not a big technology person, and I’m usually the last to try something. But with my line of work, I’m forcing myself to look at these things. In marketing you need to be 100% ahead of the game
I was thinking that too, about the new iPhone that was just released – it was madness!
But I’m not surprised so much is being spent on mobile ads, and how much is planning to be spent on mobile ads. The money MUST follow the trends, and the trends are going smaller and more mobile.
Thanks so much for sharing this
@abnormalmarket Thanks for your interesting post!
This is a fantastic article. I think many have thought about this, but still have not gone far enough to implement and derive the benefits of the technology “in hand” of every consumer. I guess this is a economical way of doing business and reaching almost everywhere.
Twitter: fionamceachran
July 2, 2010 at 12:14 pm | Permalink
@Tejinder, Thanks Tejinder for your feedback. I think you’re right. Businesses ARE thinking about this, but I wonder how many exactly have this as a section in their marketing plan? I think businesses need to cover the basics first, like being web-friendly. Then the next step is…… being creative with the possibilities…
Fiona Bosticky´s last [type] ..9 Top Resources for Free Stock Photos
hello fellows…it is not necessary that Mobile Marketing is helpful in every time but it causes difficulties as well…
Twitter: fionamceachran
July 4, 2010 at 12:23 pm | Permalink
@Asad, Hi Asad, Thank you for your comment. What difficulties do you think mobile marketing may cause?
Fiona Bosticky´s last [type] ..View your Twitter as a Newspaper