Mobile   marketing

If you’re looking to skyrocket sales, connect with your target audience, and send an endless surge of highly-targeted traffic to your website, you must tap into the power of mobile marketing.

The number of mobile shoppers is at an all-time high, and it’ll only continue to grow over the next few years.  With more people using their mobile devices to interact online, conduct business and complete purchases, it’s crucial that you build a business that is both mobile-friendly, and engages the busy, on the go shopper.

In fact, according to Salesforce.com, 5 percent of all digital retail traffic flows through social channels, such as Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!

Consider what this could mean for your business.  You could easily double, maybe even triple your sales just by tapping into the ever-growing market of mobile shoppers.

This special report reveals the insider strategies to creating high converting marketing campaigns on some of the leading social platforms so that you can get your message in front of thousands of potential customers.

I’ll also show you how to join the ranks of successful ecommerce websites who have utilized apps in order to maximize sales and build brand loyalty faster and easier than they ever thought possible.

So, without further delay, let’s get started!

What is Mobile Marketing?

Let’s start with a quick definition of exactly what mobile marketing is:

Quite simply, mobile marketing is the concept of developing marketing campaigns that appeal specifically to mobile device users. 

This could include everything from the structure of your website, and how it allows mobile visitors to interact and connect with your products, but it also could compriseof ad campaigns that are primarily designed to attract mobile shoppers.

The future of mobile marketing is here, and if you’re not working to implement some sort of mobile marketing strategy into your business, you’re missing out on a massive segment of your market. 

According to Marketing Land, nearly 40% of Internet timeeach day is spent on mobile devices, while more than 70% browse more web pages on tablets rather than smartphones.

  And while a few years ago, most people would connect to social media sitesusing desktop computers or laptops, these daysmost users use the available apps, such as the one Facebook, Skype and Twitter.

The same goes for retail-based apps such as, Amazon and Ebay, just to name a few.

In the next chapter, we’ll look at some of the ways people have been successful with mobile marketing campaigns and how you can follow their lead.   

Mobile Marketing Strategies

There are many ways you can implement mobile marketing into your business strategy so that you’re able to broaden your outreach and connect with a larger segment of your market.

Here are a few ways to get started:

QR Codes:
QR Codes are scanned by recipients using their smartphones. Once scanned, users are then directed to a specific website, landing page or offer.  You can feature QR codes on business cards, flyers, in direct mail packages, or even postcards, just to give you a few ideas!  Create your QR codes here: https://www.qrstuff.com/

Location-based marketing:
This is a direct marketing strategy in which specific ads appear based on a user’s current location.

For example, restaurants can take advantage of location-based marketing by having their place of business featured whenever a potential patron is within a couple miles from their business.

In-app Marketing:

With services like AdMob by Google, you can easily promote your website’s app inside of other popular appsto generate more brand awareness, increase clicks and maximize revenue.

Check it out here: https://www.google.com/admob/platform.html

In-game Marketing:
Have you ever played a game and suddenly an advertisement appears that you must watch before you can continue to play?  This is in-game marketing, and it’s one of the most effective ways to get your message in front of potential customers without having to spend a fortune in advertising.  You can take a closer look by visiting in-game advertising agencies including:  https://www.rapidfire.com/

SMS Marketing:
This strategy involves capturing a user’s phone number so that you can send them text-based offers. According toMitek, over 80% of Millennials revealed that their phone is the first thing they check each day, SMS marketing can be a very effective technique at getting attention and maximizing exposure.

In fact, compared to email campaigns that can sit in a users inbox for days (or worse, caught in a spam filter and never seen), with SMS, you’re able to get your message seen almost immediately after they’ve been delivered.

In addition, with SMS marketing you’re able to interact in a far more effective way by gaining valuable feedback from recipients as well as tracking response rates. 

Here are a few SMS marketing platforms to consider:

https://www.slicktext.com/

https://www.eztexting.com

https://www.protexting.com

Creating an App For Your Business

According toBizrate Insights, over 45% of all U.S. shoppers make purchases via the use of retail apps, at least once a month.

Think about how many apps you may personally use, such as EBay, Amazon, Walmart or Groupon. These companies utilize apps to encourage sales and build customer loyalty. Chances are, you’ve likely made at least one purchase using an app in the past few months.

And according toCriteoInc, app-based shoppers are three times more likely to make a purchase after viewing a product detail page than even mobile web shoppers!

In the world of e-commerce, apps are certainly changing the landscape of online shopping. 

Take a look at the infographic below for a visual example

One of the best ways to interact with on-the-go consumers is by offering them an app that makes it easy to browse and purchase your products.

Consider just how many people don’t have the time to sit at the computer when evaluating products. If you want to boost sales and build a loyal customer base, you need to cater to the busy parent, the on-the-go professional, and the younger crowd of customers that spend hours of their day on mobile devices.

Here are a few more reasons why it’s important to consider creating an app as a digital extension of your brand:

Apps Simplify the Purchasing Process
Once a person becomes comfortable using an app, chances are they’ll continue to use it every time they purchase, or connect to your community or online store.  Apps make shopping fast and easy, especially for those with limited time.

Apps Provide Invaluable Customer Data
Apps allow you to collect important customer data, including purchase histories, email addresses, as well as age and location demographics.

This information can be invaluable when creating ad campaigns or marketing initiatives, allowing you to better target your audience.

Reward Apps Build Loyalty
Consumers love a bargain and they also appreciate being rewarded for purchasing through your store.  In fact, loyalty-based reward apps are so popular that customers will often remain with the brands that offer them reward incentives even when the prices of products are higher than competing companies that fail to offer an app!

Tip: Consider creating a loyalty based app that rewards users with special discounts and coupons as well as providing them with the ability to keep track of the rewards/points so they’re encouraged to continue shopping with you. 

This is one of the easiest ways to improve customer retention and build a trusted brand.

So how can you build an app for your e-commerce website in order to boost sales and satisfy the ever-growing demand from mobile shoppers?

Here are a few ways to get started:

Appy Pie:
With their ecommerce app builder, you can integrate your current product listing from your website right into your new ecommerce app so that customers can buy and sell from within the app. Engage with your customers through effective push notifications from App Builder Appy Pie, and keep them updated regarding new offers and products.

Visit: https://www.appypie.com/e-commerce-app-builder

Adiante Apps:
Create an e-commerce app quickly and easily even if you have zero experience building applications! 

With Adiante Apps, you can:

·       Integrate your online shop

·       Send notifications about the newest offers and items added into your inventory

·       Create exclusive coupons

·       Guide with GPS your customers to your physical location

·       Show pictures and videos of your facilities

·       Create satisfaction surveys about your products

·       Integrate your social networks (twitter, facebook)

·       and many more things...

Visit: https://www.adianteapps.com/info/make-your-online-shop-app

Top Recommended: Shopify
One of the easiest ways to build an app for your store is by combining the power of Shopify with the mobile app creator available here: https://apps.shopify.com/plobalapps-mobile-application and here: http://www.shoutem.com/app/e-commerce

Spend some time evaluating the different app development options in order to find the one that works best for you.  Then create an app that encourages customer engagement and loyalty.

Here are a few other ways to develop your app:

Hire a Developer
You can easily hire an app developer from marketplaces like www.eLance.com and www.Freelancer.com. Just make sure that your developer is available for ongoing support and updates whenever needed.

Hire an Agency
If your budget allows for it, you could outsource your app to an agency who would be responsible for providing maintenance, updates, bug fixes and security protocols.  Agencies can also work on developing future enhancements and personalization options which can add value to a customer’s experience. 

Here is a list of available agencies to help you get started: https://experts.shopify.com/developers

Social Marketing on Mobile

If you’re looking to get your business in front of thousands of prospective customers, you’ll want to consider creating targeted ads within the most popular social media platforms and communities.

Here’s how to get started:

Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com
Boasting over 400 million users each day, and over 100 million photos shared, Instagram is a titan in the realm of social marketing. One of the easiest ways to reach your audience is with Instagram ads.

Advertisers have several options to choose from including:

·       Video Ads

·       Photo Ads

·       Carousel Ads (

·       Stories Ads

·       Instagram ads uses Facebook’s demographic data to display highly-targeted ads. This means it’s exceptionally easy for you to reach a very specific segment of your market. 

·       You’ll also gain access to in-depth monitoring, tracking and historical data that provides you with the information you need to gauge the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. 

Instagram’s advertising model is based on CPM (cost per impressions) which means that you pay only when your ads are seen.

·       In addition, you can choose between a daily budget (where you cap your spending off per day once it reaches your limit), or set a lifetime budget where your ads expire only after the entirety of your budget has been exhausted.

Another way to gain followers and maximize exposure at absolutely no cost is to post content regularly, and use relevant hashtags. Hashtags are those things you see that look like: #hashtag, and they are equivalent to keywords. You must use the # sign in front of the tag, and there must be no spaces.

If you have multiple words in your hashtag, you can either combine them all into one word like this:

#thisisyourhashtag

Or, you can separate them with underscores, like this:

#this_is_your_hashtag

You can have up to 30 hashtags in each Instagram post.

Yelp:http://www.Yelp.com
With over 90 million unique mobile users every single month, you won’t want to overlook the potential exposure that Yelp has to offer.

If you own a brick and mortar business, you’ll want to set up a page on Yelp that allows for customers to post reviews and feedback. 

You can further boost exposure with Yelp by paying for a sponsored advertisement.

Facebook Advertising:
One of the most popular ways to advertise to mobile users on Facebook is with their carousel format which gives advertisers the opportunity to feature multiple product images and links within one ad.

There are two different places you can create an ad on Facebook—the Ads Manager and the Power Editor. The Power Editor includes more features, but the Ads Manager is said to be a bit easier for people who are just starting out, however you can also use both in different ways.

For example, you could create your ads in the Power Editor, and then monitor your campaigns and make changes with the Ads Manager.

Fortunately, Facebook has a solid interface that walks you through the entire process.

>>https://www.facebook.com/adsmanager/manage/campaigns

Facebook advertising is one of the platforms that provides the most targeted campaign options. With their sophisticated ad system you can target your ads based on gender, location, hobbies/interests, occupation, education, age, as well as many other options.

You can also choose where and when your ads appear which makes it a powerful advertising platform when trying to reach mobile shoppers as you can choose to show your ads only to mobile users and even specific mobile devices.

Creating a great ad can take some time, and you might have to test a few different ads before you find one that has the best CTR (click-thru ratio, or the number of people who see the ad and click on it vs. the number of people who don’t.)

Facebook Pages
You can also use your Facebook business page to drive targeted traffic to your ecommerce store in a few different ways.  To start, if you own a brick-and-mortar store, you should make sure you list your business hours and location in the About section of your page so that potential customers can easily find you. Also, those using Facebooks “Nearby in your neighborhood” feature will see your page.

A Facebook page provides your business with the opportunity to connect to customers, provide updates on specials, discounts or time-limited events. You could also run giveaways and contests on your page in order to boost exposure and drive fresh traffic to your online store.

You can create your Facebook business page here: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/set-up-facebook-page

Create a Facebook store
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to set up a Facebook store, check out https://www.shoptab.net. They make it easy to create a Facebook shop within minutes and all stores are optimized for use with the Facebook app. Another solution is available at https://www.bigcommerce.ca/facebook/

Pinterest Advertising:

With Pinterest’s Buyable Pins, merchants can sell their products directly to their mobile audience without forcing them to leave the platform.

 After you’ve been approved, you can feature as many products as you wish while creating a frictionless checkout experience that makes it easy for mobile shoppers to purchase your products quickly, all from within the Pinterest app.

You’ll need a Pinterest business account in order to utilize their Buyable Pins advertising platform and once you’re ready, you can apply via Shopify at: https://www.shopify.com/pinterest or BigCommerce at https://www.bigcommerce.com/pinterest/

Tip: Review Pinterest’s policies prior to requesting approval in order to determine if your business is eligible. You can find out more here: https://about.pinterest.com/commerce-policies

Here’s how Buyable Pins work:

After you’re approved, any pins on your public boards that link back to specific products will now feature an “Add to Bag” button.  You can display your buyable pins in many places including within category feeds, search results, on boards of other people who have saved your products and within the home feed.

Once you have Buyable Pins enabled, you can take advantage of Pinterest’s’ extended advertising options which enable you to promote your Buyable Pinsin order to maximize exposure. And with Pinterest’s advertising channelsyou’ll be able to easily monitor traffic and sales from within your Ads Manager.

Final Words

Here are a few final tips to help you build stronger mobile marketing campaigns that will connect with your target audience:

Know Your Audience
In order to create mobile marketing campaigns that connect to your audience, you need to know exactly who they are. 

For example, are they avid gamers? How old are they?  Where do they spend most their time online? The more you know about your audience, the better you’ll be able to create highly-targeted campaigns that generate results.

Try Different Mobile Marketing Strategies

Don’t just stick to one mobile marketing campaign. Test out different types of mobile marketing to find out what works best for your business. Don’t be afraid to branch out and try new things!

Test & Track Everything
Keep track of how your audience responds to different mobile marketing campaigns. That way you know where to invest your marketing dollars and what just isn’t working. 

Build an App for Your Ecommerce Site
Consider developing an app that highlights your products and caters to the mobile shopper. Incorporate a reward program into your marketing strategy that rewards loyal buyers. 

I wish you the very best of success!