10 Mobile Marketing Strategies That Drive Traffic

The mobile phone is here—and here to stay. As the number of people using their phones continues to increase, mobile marketing is more important than ever before. The following are 10 mobile marketing strategies that will drive traffic, reach more customers, and increase your conversion rates.

1. Location-Based Marketing

Location-based marketing targets users by the physical location of their mobile device. Three of the most common types include:

  • Geofencing: This involves creating a virtual fence around a specific location. Using RFID, GPS, or an IP address, you can show specific ads to users when they enter the fenced-in location.

  • Geotargeting: This is similar to geofencing but goes a step further. Geotargeting not only pinpoints a certain area but also considers criteria such as demographics and purchase history when targeting users.

  • Proximity Marketing: This is also similar to geofencing, but includes a more specific location. Instead of targeting an entire city, you might target a neighborhood or even an office building.

 
2. Responsive Site Design

This primarily involves designing your website with different screen sizes and devices in mind. A responsive design will automatically adjust to whatever device an individual is viewing your site from. You want your site to look great and respond quickly whether a user is on their phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop computer. To achieve that, you can use particular tools like image editors, an online background remover, special effects, etc. From a technology point of view, this includes an alternate set of CSS files available for different devices. This means that what your website looks like on a laptop is sometimes slightly different from how it may appear on a phone. Many website building services, like WordPress or Squarespace, create responsive websites as part of their offering.

3. Social Media Advertising

Currently, the major social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, and YouTube. There are also smaller and newer platforms such as Tumblr to consider if you're trying to reach a certain demographic. You'll want to know your audience, research the different platforms they're most likely to use, and then choose a few ads to start your social media marketing campaign. After receiving feedback and analyzing results, you can decide if you want to stick with those platforms or try some others.

4. Mobile-Friendly Content

Mobile-friendly content goes a few steps beyond just responsive design to create, at the outset, a site that will work well on the smaller screen of a phone. Everything from your site’s text and images to videos needs to fit within the very different screen size and proportions of a mobile device. Below are a few steps you can take to make your site more mobile friendly.

  • Use chunk content. These are smaller bits of text that will improve readability.

  • Use lists and bullet points to increase the amount of white space on the screen.

  • Use shorter titles. Try not to have a headline, subhead, or title that’s any longer than five or six words.

 
5. Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is optimizing your pages so they will appear in voice searches. The popularity of voice searches is quickly rising. Asking a question verbally will often allow users to more specifically describe what they're looking for. Someone might type in "roses in Virginia." In a voice search the same person might find it easier to ask "What type of roses grow well in the spring in Virginia?" Several strategies for optimizing voice searches are:

  • Make sure to focus on natural phrases and conversational keywords.

  • Build pages that ask and answer questions that are important to your users.

  • Don't forget that page load time and page speed are still extremely important.

 
6. Text Message Marketing

Using text messages in your marketing plan is an easy way to send out announcements, coupons, and newsletters. You'll want to look for a provider that offers a package to fit your business's specific needs. Most text messaging services will offer a variety of pricing tiers. You'll normally pay a specific rate for a certain number of text messages each month plus custom keywords. You'll want to pick a service that is easy to use and has a friendly interface. Some plans include customization tools and the ability to send texts to multiple countries.

Clickatell makes it easy for you to send a message to your customers via text message. After you register for an account, you’ll be able to start sending messages within minutes. Our pricing is simple as well and our pricing estimator allows you to easily price out any campaign. Learn more about Clickatell's SMS texting solutions  or get started today.

7. Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs are incredibly eye catching and are important tools in today's competitive environment. There are a few tips to keep in mind when using videos:

  • Shorter videos, normally 30 seconds or less, are ideal for mobile devices.

  • Most mobile users prefer to watch vertical videos.

  • Make sure the video makes sense even if the user has the sound off.

 

GIFs (graphics interchange format) are images with animation that are ideal for mobile marketing because of their small size. It is possible to create your own GIFs. There are also several places where you can find GIFs that are already made.

  • GIPHY: GIPHY is Google's online database for GIFs.

  • Reddit: It may take some time to browse through all the subreddits to find these, but there are great options available.

  • Tumblr: Tumblr has several interesting GIFs available.

  • Tenor: This is probably GIPHY's biggest competitor.

 
8. On-Site and In-App Support

On-site support includes hands-on tech support at one’s premises. In-app support is a type of communication delivery that provides support without the user needing to exit the app and reaching customer service inside an application. With literally millions of apps now available and mobile users increasingly spending time on apps, it's crucial to provide customers with an easy, seamless experience.

Here, too, partnering with Clickatell is an ideal partner. Our drag-and-drop visual tool, Clickatell Chat Flow, helps you design a customer support journey. It turns the process from one that requires weeks or months and several resources across your company, to one that can be designed and deployed by a non-technical business user with no long lead times.

9. Personalize Campaigns

Personalized campaigns will sometimes take more time to put together, but they are often one of the most effective marketing strategies. You'll need to incorporate user data such as interests, location, age, and purchasing habits when personalizing a campaign. There are a few important tips to keep in mind when putting together a personalized marketing campaign.

  • Create digital loyalty programs that allow customers to save digital cards to their phone.

  • Promote campaigns that focus on personalizing a user's experience, not just making a sale.

  • Don't over-personalize unless users expect it. This can come off as invasive or even creepy.

 
10. Opt-in Forms

In simplest terms, opt-in marketing is when the user gives your business permission to send messages or other types of marketing. "Sign up for our Newsletter" or "Allow Notifications" are two basic examples. Opt-in allows users to text, submit, or scan information on a mobile device. User benefits include access to immediate information. There are lots of ways to create opt-ins. These can include floating bars, scroll boxes, and lightbox pop-ups.

With the majority of your customers and potential customers spending more time than ever on mobile devices, it's crucial to make mobile marketing strategies a significant part of your marketing efforts. As a leader in the mobile space for over 20 years, Clickatell can help you create and deploy the right mobile solutions to increase customer engagement and grow your business. Let's talk about which specific opportunities in this powerful, cost-effective marketing channel are right for your company.

 

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