Going Mobile - An Introductory Guide Part 4 - Marketing Your Brand

In the “going mobile” series, we’ve evaluated the approaches of creating mobile websites and mobile apps . The final avenue to explore in the “Going Mobile” series is in marketing your brand through mobile channels. This option involves strategic placement of your business identity in front of consumers through mobile channels. Much like traditional media advertising strategy, organizations identify channels familiar to their target demographic and place their message in these channels. This may include simple ad placement on mobile sites and in mobile apps, or more transparent brand integration opportunities.

Mobile website and app ad placement works very similar to internet ad placement. The nature of the medium allows highly precise demographic targeting to focus advertising dollars. Depending on the channel, ads can be selectively displayed based on user age, geographic location, interests, and more. Mobile advertising clearinghouses simplify this process with the ability to place ads across multiple sites/apps focusing specifically on the target demographic. Rich media advertisements, those that are in some manner interactive, are proving to be highly effective at attractive attention and converting into click-through.

Brand integration mobile advertising strategies allow a more natural, often subliminal placement of your business information in mobile sites or apps. Your products, message, or image can be placed at key opportunities on mobile sites and apps. This might include mentions or reviews of products / services, products or images being visible in other contexts, etc. Often the goal of cross-promotional activities is not to result in immediate click-through transactions, but instead to increase awareness, image, or align with other products, people, or organizations for validity and association.

An exciting opportunity for mobile marketing exists with locations based apps. A number of social apps integrate geographic location check-in and location awareness. This presents a new unique opportunity to reach out to potential customers on their device at the precise opportunity to attract them to your location. For example, offering discounts or information to attract customers into your location when they check-in at a nearby location. Encouraging customer to check-in from your business can also help to encourage new customers through implied, unsolicited recommendations (seeing friends visiting a business could encourage people to visit your business as well).

Opportunities for mobile marketing go far beyond the few ideas presented in this posting. As mobile devices increasingly grow in their role as a communications tool, entertainment center, information gathering portal, and consumer transaction device, the opportunities will continue to expand. Businesses must carefully evaluate the various avenues for engaging the mobile market through marketing, mobile website development, and app development. Each implementation approach provides significant opportunities when fully integrated and supporting an organization’s overall business strategy. This represents an exciting method to engage, attract, and retain customers through the technology that consumers cling to in their daily lives.