Beginner's Guide to Mobile and Local Mobile Marketing

If you think you are too small for mobile marketing, you are going to get left behind. While this emerging marketing strategy is still evolving you need to take it seriously, particularly if you have a store or office location and you are B2C. People love to play with their

 If you think you are too small for mobile marketing, you are going to get left behind. While this emerging marketing strategy is still evolving you need to take it seriously, particularly if you have a store or office location and you are B2C. People love to play with their phones. As frightening as all this technology is to some small businesses, you need to at least be familiar with their growing consumer uses. And, when a thought leader with a smart phone finds a great use they tell other friends with smart phones.  Sound familiar?

WOMM Defined for 2010 - This funny acronym is no longer Word-of-Mouth-Marketing.  It should be Word-of-Mobile-Marketing.  Unless you have been under a rock (or in China) in the past month, you have heard of Twitter Location-sharing. With social media making people more comfortable with sharing their every thought, why not share where you are (while eating that bagel)? If yours is the bagel shop in the Tweet, it would be great for all those Tweeple to know where you are located, your hours and your lunchtime special today, right?

Do You Display a QR Code? Or even know what it is?  If you have a local business with potential walk-in business QR codes are important for you to understand.  Google brands them a "Favorite Place".  Japan uses them widely as their population has been tethered to cell phones long before the rest of us.  QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response. It's used to transfer information onto your cell phone. More and more local businesses are displaying these as current or potential marketing vehicles. Their use is still being explored, but you'd be wise to learn how it could help your business.

Mobile Research in The Palm of Your Hand - PositionApp is an iPhone app that shows the most downloaded applications for the iPhone. It's a terrific gauge for what people are interested in having at their fingertips. Although the top apps are often very large company apps, it's a great way to determine where to advertise.

There are so many more applications and sites that reign supreme in the local and mobile business and you should take time to download and play with all of them on your phone. Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Brightkite, and Google Latitude are current favs. You should also identify what your cyber competitors are doing on these sites: coupons, contests, driving business at certain times of the day, etc.  Just keep your eyes open and as opportunities emerge - jump in.  None are expensive financially, but like other marketing tactics they require a strategy, planning, time and tracking. 

 
Want to use this article on your website?  That's great, but please include the next section beneath it.

Paula Pollock is CEO of the Pollock Marketing Group, further assisting good companies in becoming great through outsourced marketing services with her team of professionals. PMG supports business marketing at all levels from DIY, short-term projects and campaign corrections. You can sign up to receive her Marketing Tips newsletter at www.paulapollock.com
Comments
Add New Search RSS
Jay Ehret     |173.175.62.xxx |2010-05-07 14:56:15
Spot on, Paula. No business is too small for mobile. In fact, I think mobile is perfect for small business. And affordable too. You can now do SMS campaigns for as little as $20 a month. Small businesses should be learning everything they can about mobile, because it's a place they can have a tactical advantage.
Write comment
Name:
Email:
 
Website:
Title:
UBBCode:
[b] [i] [u] [url] [quote] [code] [img] 
 
 
:angry::0:confused::cheer:B):evil::silly::dry::lol::kiss::D:pinch:
:(:shock::X:side::):P:unsure::woohoo::huh::whistle:;):s
:!::?::idea::arrow:
 
Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."

 

Current White Paper

2011 Online Lead Generation Playbook:

  • Discover What You're Doing Wrong
  • Learn Inbound Marketing Secrets
  • Gain Market Share from your Competitors

 

Testimonials

I was going thru a marketing overhaul and Paula was an invaluable resource. I felt that I was so involved in my business that I might have lost touch with who my customers are, what matters to them, and the best features and benefits to promote in order to grab their attention.Paula helped me develop a Persona Chart, precisely targeting different segments of the market and defining their different persona, along with the benefits that would touch them the most. It is my basis for all marketing material being produced from now on.

Valerie Ackam Blindmobile

Paula Pollock

pullmarketer: Lethal Generosity: The Key To Your Online Content Strategy http://t.co/8pZKHXy9
pullmarketer: The CMO Site - Mitch Wagner - For Facebook, It's All Downhill From Here http://t.co/u4SLDUvV