Look Louise, a shoe sale!

First things first, what is mobile marketing?  The mobile part is all about the telephone.  These days, making phone calls is almost just a by-product of the mobile phone rather than the real reason for having one.  We expect so much more from our phones these days and we accept that we can get more done in real time by allowing our phones to become a one-stop shop for connecting to what we want and need.

In its simplest form, mobile marketing is the use of phone technology for the delivery of marketing messages to people who have authorized a business to do so.

Smart phones have changed the way people make decisions about all kinds of buying. Nearly every cell phone in use in the US and globally can receive text messages.

Group buying collaborations on the fly are common now as well.  There are even phone apps that allow customers to snap a picture of a barcode and instantly receive product information and reviews.  Other technology allows businesses to reach out to their customers offering specials that are compelling enough to get the customer’s attention causing them to come on in the store.  Companies like Foursquare and Gowalla are changing the way people become promoters of their favorite places.

Mobile is uniquely positioned between print, TV, and online and is the connector that will tie it all together putting information in front of potential buyers at the point when they are making a decision no matter where that is. 

Of course, nothing in marketing is just that cut and dried these days, so mobile does encompass a variety of ways that it is used.  Trying to understand it all is overwhelming at times.  Therefore, the best way to see if a technology that is on the rise can be useful for marketing your business is just to start small. The get in where you fit in method of testing ideas.  The playing field really is leveled today.  Big corporations are not the only ones who can incorporate mobile marketing into their marketing strategies.  So where should you start so that your marketing efforts won’t fall behind?

The #1 place to start using mobile marketing for your business is the simple text message.  Yes, that’s right SMS!  It is the instant way to put your brand in front of your audience more efficiently.

Mobile marketing using SMS/Text Messages puts your message local without you having to figure out where local is located.  How much more local can your message be than in the palm of your customer’s hand.  Brands who can deliver unique, valuable benefits to their customers in an acceptable format will have an increase in the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

 According to the Mobile Marketing Association:

 The mobile phone is an extremely personal device. One mobile phone typically has one unique user. This makes the mobile phone a precisely targeted communication channel, where users are highly engaged with content. As a result, the mobile channel delivers excellent campaign effectiveness and response levels compared to other media.

 What do mobile marketing messages look like?  Have you ever seen any of the following?

 On TV, Print or Web you might see:

• Text “JOIN” to 122333 to join our VIP invite list
• Txt “Shop” to 122333 to save 50% on your next purchase
• Be The First To Know About Our Upcoming Events!  Text VIP to 122333 Now!
• Text ‘DEALS’ to 25827 to get on our Secret Sale mailing list!

And, my personal favorite that is getting me into so much trouble now:

• TXT SB252 to 34568 to download this song as a ringtone; $1.99 will be added to your phone bill!

And least I forget, I also get the severe weather alerts on my mobile phone from the Weather Channel.  I will not be blown away by surprise!

Using SMS marketing is simple and hard at the same time.  How complicated it becomes is really based on the company and the campaign. 

Some brands will want to have their own short code; that is the 5 or 6 digit number where people will send the keyword.  A large global company might need to have this kind of autonomy. The costs on a campaign that begins with leasing a short code from CSA (Common Shortcode Administration) will start at $1500 to $3000 for a three-month lease. 

 A smaller company or entrepreneur might want to go with the option of finding a provider who will sublet a short code they already lease from CSA to others.  The costs on this end start around $120 to $1200 depending upon the provider.

What type of businesses can use mobile marketing?

Restaurants, Night Clubs, Bars, Event Promoters, Retail, Magazines, Radio, Television, Universities, Non-Profits, Religious Congregations, Real Estate, Direct Mail, Home Office. 

Is that list long enough for you? 

Once again social media has leveled the playing field.  Neither business type nor size matters!

Let’s talk about this… Does any of this information seem important to you and your business?  Have you already been thinking about starting to use mobile marketing?  If so, but you haven’t started it yet, what’s holding you back?

Valerie Maltoni, of Conversation Agent, posed this great question on LinkedIn Answers about a month ago.  I thought you, my readers, might like to be in on this conversation.   Go to Valerie’s LinkedIn Answers question for the original content or the Conversation Agent blog post where she distills it all.

After you read this, then weigh in with your thoughts.  Are you or your company feeling the pressure to be present online in a more “social” way?  Will you outsource all or some of the project?  If you are in PR, what are your thoughts about offering this as a service?  Will you become the voice of a company if they ask you to?

So I used to think that Bill Gates would be the one to take over the world with all the Microsoft products, but now we see who the real (hopefully, not evil) world dominator will be, Mark Zuckerberg.  Facebook is at it again.  This time they are giving developers the opportunity to use a plug on the sites the developers create that allows them to pull in FB profile information.  Now, developers are using the plug-in at a rate of 300 websites an hour!

What does this mean for you?  It means that whenever one of your friends or fans or whatever they are called these days in on CNN, for example, they might see your lovely picture already there because you read the same article they are now reading.  And, you don’t have to be logged in for that to happen.  Mark wants to make the internet a more social place with Facebook being the hub for all those social interactions.  This is either the most altruistic reason ever and we’re going to be so glad it happened.  Or, we’ll be afraid to turn on our computers because now we really don’t know who is watching.

Mashable reported about this in their article, FaceBook’s New Social Plug-Ins Come to 50,000+ Websites in One Week. 

What do you think?  Should we all be concerned about this or is it harmless fun?

Well, just when we all think that social media is getting to a manageble level it happens again.  Another social networking platform, Facebook, adds a few new features that make you go, hmmm…  Now, I do like what LinkedIn changed, but I’m not sure exactly what FB is going for.

First, they have changed the way people join fan pages.  Now, we can only like each other because apparently, according to FB, fan was too strong of a word.  Also, on the fan page you now see your personal FB friends along with the people who “like” you.  The thing that I loved about facebook’s personal profile and fan page was the separation.  I liked having people who only want to see pictures of my granddaughter separated from the other people who want to talk about social media.  It’s down right frustrating, I tell you.  I’m almost afraid to teach my next social media class because while I’m explaining a feature of some social networking site it might change that very hour. 

Second, Facebook is now introducing another level of networking (I guess that’s what it is) called community pages.  So what’s the difference between community page, fan page, personal profile and group?  I don’t believe anyone know yets.  If someone does then like the Bush’s Beans dog, they ain’t talking.  For now what is known is that individuals can create a community page.  I think that the page will be owned by the one who creates it at first but once it reaches a certain number of people who like it then the community takes over and it becomes more like a wiki.  If you understand that, please explain it to me!  LOL!

So the question again becomes should people/organizations go ahead and create a community page to have first in advantage or just wait to see what happens.  How will people use the community pages?  What will having these well liked community pages do for fan pages.  Will it make fan pages obsolete?  The world is waiting for an answer. 

Here’s my biggest question:  Are the big drug manufacturers working on a pill to combat social networking chageitsis?  I might need a perscription.  In the meantime, I guess margaritas will have to be enough.

So, I’m reading the blogs that I subscribe to when I run across this very good one from Amber Naslund.  She’s the Director of Community for Radian6.  In the post titled, The Quest for Firm Answers, she says, “I’m finally going to answer some of the questions that have been burning in your mind. The ones that your boss is demanding. The ones you say you aren’t getting from books or blogs or conference sessions. Ready?”

Are you ready?  Go to her blog post by clicking on the title above to see what her answers are.  I think you’ll be surprised!