The Rise Of Mobile Marketing

By Author: Marvin Yakos
Total Articles: 18
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Gartner Research Group estimates that the total spent on mobile advertising in 2011 will reach $3.3 billion, growing to over $20.6 billion by 2015. Mobile marketing is growing exponentially and projected to become one of the dominant modes of advertising by 2015. “While the growth rate for mobile advertising will peak in 2011 and 2012, more than doubling each year, it won’t reach its optimum point for some time,” stated the report.

Personal texting and text message advertising have grown hand-in-hand. Today, text message advertising dominates mobile marketing. Also called SMS, for short messaging services, mobile marketing is exploding across the U.S. CTIA, the wireless industry trade group, claims that 3.5 billion text messages are sent and received every day, exceeding the number of cell phone callsper day!

70% of the people worldwide now own mobile phones and they are now the most popular media device in the world and each mobile phone is capable of sending text messages. Mobile marketing has moved into a dominating position because of this overall popularity of mobile phones and the convenience and speed ...
... of texting. At least 80% of mobile phone subscribers use SMS.

Even with the spectacular growth of smart phones, web applications, email and social media, texting still dominates. Consumers have proven their acceptance of texting and this trend has not been lost on advertisers. Text messaging has taken the form of news alerts, opt-in services, birthday clubs, as well as marketing campaigns, quizzes, and contests, loyalty programs and much, much more.

Text messaging is no longer just for youngsters. The Internet and American Life Project states that in 2010 72% of U.S. cell phone users age 18 and over sent and received text messages, up from 65% the previous year. Customers are comfortable and well –versed with texting, responding to promotions and agreeing to be on permission-based lists from the businesses they like. More join the texting parade every day. Breaking it down further, Gartner’s predicts that by 2015 mobile marketing will add up to billions and close the gap on other popular forms of advertising.

Mobile text advertising can be defined as an interactive direct response medium, one that creates an ongoing dialog between a business and the consumer. Mobile marketing tells people about something of interest to them and asks for a response. Additional benefits of this highly personal and targeted advertising service are that it works almost instantaneously, as well as conveniently and seamlessly.

In terms of performance, ongoing mobile marketing campaigns with a series of messages bring higher returns than single messages. Goals are to increase sales revenue, customer acquisition, retention and loyalty, branding, driving foot traffic, events, new product education, specials, voting, closeouts, and contests and so on. An opt-in list can be rewarded and highly meaningful, and is one of the most effective advertising campaigns, as these are most desired by the consumer. People generally seek price reductions, appointmentreminders, specials, opportunities, giveaways, events, exclusive offers, memberships, raffles, coupons, multiple item purchases and more. Consumers can also be connected to an online website or video about a product while interest is running high.

Do you have an important message to communicate to your customer base? The message should be about one topic with a limit of 160 characters that should be used well. Consumers should be told what is in it for them and how to respond. Frequency, attention grabbers, a sense of urgency and the best times to send should be tested for best responses. Making the text interactive provides increases effectiveness.

As people send you text messages, your contact database will grow. With mass texting, you canselect individual contacts or groups of contacts by campaign, and send one text message to allcontacts selected. This is an invaluable feature because it gives you the power tocommunicatewith an exclusive clientele who will likely be eager to participate in your promotions, events, and sales. If you are new to mobile marketing, why not grab the low-hanging fruit and ask for mobile numbers and permission.

One of the best places to start mobile marketing is with My Zip, which offers exclusive, comprehensive and cost-effective advertising services for local businesses that include traditional, online, as well as the mobile marketing. My Zip bundled advertising services often cost less than one of the services if purchased on its own. There is no better advertising value for local businesses available. My Zip’s do-it-yourself text message solution offers both interactive and broadcast text messaging. There are no long-term contracts and users can be up and running within 24 hours. Our Community Specialists live and work locally and are expert Mobile Marketing consultants. Training and help are available every step of the way to ensure your success.

My Zip’s program puts your business in the loop and ties you together cooperatively with other key businesses and organizations in your community for the long-term, Let My Zip put your business on the map and keep you there.

Once you get tagged with My Zip’s smarter, more cost-effective advertising, your local business can grow into the successful business you desire. Just remember, that it takes time to get the word out effectively and My Zip doesthat for you consistently. For more information, go to www.myziptag.com or email info@myziptag.com and get tagged now!