Mobile Marketing: 5 Trends You Can't Ignore

Mobile internet usage is growing dramatically thanks to the emergence of new technology, faster networks, and the increasing adoption of smartphones. By 2014, it's estimated that more than half of web browsing will be done from mobile devices, and the organizations that create effective mobile communications strategies will reap big rewards. This month we'll explore 5 mobile trends that should be on every marketer's mind.

Mobile Websites vs. Applications. Many companies are unsure whether they should enter the mobile space by creating an application, mobile-optimized website, or both. While apps have a certain cool factor, many experts recommend beginning with a mobile website, making the brand accessible on a wider variety of devices and eliminating the barrier to entry of downloading an application. After a company has developed a mobile website to reach the masses, it can then focus on developing applications for its most loyal and tech-savvy customers. 'Once you've matured your mobile strategy you will likely have both a mobile optimized website and a mobile application for users to download,' says Jason Munson of Siteworx, a Virginia-based web content management agency. 'These two approaches are not mutually exclusive.'

SMS Campaigns. While text message campaigns don't generally involve rich features or creative visual designs, there are some compelling reasons marketers should consider them. Over 99% of all text messages are read by the recipient and over 90% are read within 3 minutes of being received. Ashley Furniture HomeStores, one of the largest national furniture retailers recently conducted a text message campaign in which it invited customers to a 'secret sale' at its stores via text message. The stores saw significant sales activity attributed directly to the campaign and netted a return on investment of $122 for every $1 spent. 'SMS doesn't get a lot of the hype that the flashy apps do, but it works because it provides what all marketers seek - a one-on-one dialogue with a consumer.' says Jack Philbin, Co-founder & President of Vibes Media, a mobile marketing company based in Chicago. SMS is a highly-effective and personal means of communication, so it's important that marketers use this channel sparingly and provide real value to customers in order to avoid becoming an unwelcome interruption.

In-Store Promotions. Consumers carry mobile devices with them almost everywhere, which provides interactive marketers with the opportunity to ask them to take immediate action. For this reason, in-store mobile promotions can command much higher conversion rates than campaigns that require a users to remember to take actions online when they are near their computers. This past August, Victoria's Secret PINK displayed signs asking store visitors to instantly join its loyalty program, PINK Nation by texting a code to sign up and receive a mobile coupon. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has unrolled a promotion that gives Foursquare users a special deal of 3 scoops for just $3 when they 'check in' on their mobile phones from Ben & Jerry's stores. By asking users to take immediate action from their mobile phones, organizations can drive strong campaign response rates and even convince retail visitors to share their experiences with their social networks, generating additional benefits.

Mobile Fundraising. Earlier this year in the days following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross quickly raised tens of millions of dollars for humanitarian efforts through a record-breaking text message campaign. Services such as MGive and PayPal facilitate charitable donations via text and have also helped raise money to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina and California Wildfires. Recently, other non-profits from across the globe have created engaging mobile fundraising campaigns. The website for Meir Panim, a network of soup kitchens in Israel, displays an image of a boy with an empty plate and asks visitors to make a donation via text. Once the text is received and identified based on the unique code sent in, the website shows the boy smiling and the plate full of food. Campaigns like these provide memorable user experiences and engage users through both mobile and desktop tools.

Rich Media Advertising. Thanks to devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and Android, use of mobile video and applications is quickly increasing, providing marketers with the opportunity to advertise on mobile devices using video and interactive ads within applications. And due to that fact that mobile video is often accessed by users who are seeking to pass time while doing things like waiting in line or taking the subway, mobile users appear to be a captive audience. 'Engagement rates in mobile blow away the best of online rich media, and engagement times in mobile rival those of television,' says Erica Litman, CEO of Medialets, a rich media advertising and analytics platform for mobile. Litman says that she has consistently seen mobile engagement rates above 20%, far higher than the average .06% click through rate that can be expected from an online banner.

The mobile space represents incredible opportunities for marketers across B2B, B2C, E-commerce, and non-profit organizations. Companies considering mobile initiatives over the next few years will need to meet the challenge of bridging the gap between the feature-rich capabilities they can offer and the actual capabilities and nuances of the devices being used by their key audiences. While Apple may seem to rule the mobile device market, new tablets will become available this holiday season to compete with the iPad. And in the smartphone space, Android devices are gaining market share, while Blackberry usage remains strong. So in order to create successful strategies in an increasingly diverse mobile landscape, marketers will need to be keenly aware of their audiences' devices and mobile usage patterns.