Mobile Phone Advertising
Have You Noticed the Uptake in the Popularity of the I-Phone?
Two years ago, how many people did you know who had an I-Phone (or equivalent)?
In 2012?
Next year?
“Smart phones” are sweeping the world. People love the add-ons that go with them.
And they love the power of the internet that these phones “put in the hand”.
In fact, the latest figures suggests that by 2013, the number of smart phones will surpass the number of desktops in the world - which is a behavioural change worth paying attention to; particularly if you’re a local business looking to gain an edge on your competition.
Why Smart Phones Have Changed How People Search Locally
In 2012, there are already thousands of consumers who are using their mobile phones to compare prices, write reviews, or shop for the best deals.
More importantly however, there are local businesses who are taking advantage of this global trend by actively marketing to the “smart-phone” community by texting last minute deals or offering “drive-by” coupons. These are the marketing tools of the future for local businesses.
And they’re already here!
What’s more, Google and other search engines are “rewarding” this sort of “pro-active marketing” by giving active local businesses “increased weighting” in on-line searches.
Make no mistake, this emphasis on the importance of “local search” is very new from a Google point-of-view.
And it changes everything about how local businesses should market themselves.
If you’d like to get in on the “ground floor” and have your business take advantage of this social phenomenon today, call Simon at Oolybooly on 0420 765 082.
Why mobile phone marketing is the future
In the business of selling a product or service, the importance of getting as close to the customer as possible can hardly be understated. In the increasingly cluttered and oversold environment of today, consumers are tuning out any and everything that does not 1. immediately catch their attention, and 2. provide instant relevance to their immediate life. As Generation W (the generation raised on the web) comes into the forefront of the buying market, many traditional advertising platforms are losing ground, and without inroads into the new technologies which rule the lives of this new market, they are automatically relegated to the sidelines.
To get close to the customer of today, it is necessary to move at their speed. Decisions to buy are made instantly, and many on impulse, even though the thought to buy may have been festering for a while. Businesses must catch their customers while they are thinking about the product that business is selling. Hence the success of the targeted ads on Facebook and other social media sites. Aside from an online campaign, however, which gets expensive very quickly, the number one way to keep up with your customers is through a mobile campaign.
Many companies in the know are diverting 20 or more percent of their marketing resources in the next 5 years to make sure their mobile campaigns are in place. Mobile phones are increasingly becoming ubiquitous all in one devices that people take everywhere and can not live without. Their mobile profiles and comments contain their demographic and psychographic information, all free for the taking on mobile social media sites. While they are checking their Facebook, they should be looking at an ad of your business.
The fourth generation of mobile technology is more integrated with real time business feedback than ever before. Applications like Foursquare allow users to immediately recommend a restaurant or bar to a network of friends. Trackers on phones allow people with similar interests to find each other on the street. Mobile technology is the technology bringing people together.
Most importantly, conversion rates based on mobile ads continue to rise as Generation W gains more expendable income and older generations relieve themselves of the stigmas that accompany online commerce. Any business worth its salt can hardly afford to miss out on this new wave, as it will soon become the norm.
