What is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile Marketing is a hot topic in marketing circles, but few business owners truly understand the potential impact of mobile marketing on their business.

Mobile marketing is a medium in which messages are delivered to cell phones, smart phones and other mobile devices in order to market a company or organization brand or message. With today’s technology, mobile marketing is an important part of any marketing strategy. Mobile marketing campaigns are capable of delivering messages using a variety of electronic methods, e.g., text, graphic, and voice messages. SMS messaging, or sending text messages, is currently the most popular delivery method for mobile marketing campaigns.

Market research firm The Kelsey Group predicts that the United States mobile local marketing industry will grow from a $213 million business in 2009 to a $2.02 billion in 2015. The Kelsey Group also predicts that 73% of mobile marketing will entail mobile search marketing by 2013, up from 24% in 2008. They estimate that SMS-based message campaigns will decrease from 2008′s 63% to 9% in 2013. Display-based campaigns are expected to experience a slight increase from 13% to 18%.

Typical strategies for mobile marketing campaigns include:

Mobile Marketing Examples

Mobile as a Unique Marketing Medium

Mobile marketing is a unique marketing medium. Mobile marketing firms need to be familiar with mobile device differences, including their screen size and memory limitations, and develop mobile marketing campaigns that are best suited to the unique qualities of these mobile devices.

Consumers do not need to be concerned about being inundated with spam on their mobile phones. Mobile advertisers have learned from their Internet cousins. Guidelines and best practices have been instituted to insure a publisher’s data integrity and, more importantly, protect the consumer’s privacy and mobile experience.

The mobile marketing industry has experienced almost complete vertical growth, with text campaigns (SMS) experiencing approximately 200 percent growth over the last few years. No other marketing medium, not even the Internet, experienced this level of adoption. And keep in mind that text messaging is only one aspect of the mobile marketing mix. This is just the beginning.

Mobile marketing allows brands that have relied on traditional channels to create a more direct, sustained relationship with consumers. Mobile Marketing Unlimited targets its mobile marketing business toward small and mid-sized businesses and non-profits. This levels the playing field, with a more cost-effective means for smaller budgets to target subscribers.