The Potential of Mobile Marketing
by Katie Patton, Search Engine Marketing Specialist

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Mobile Marketing holds great upside potential for advertisers. If mastered it gives the ability to tag along with consumers everywhere. The continual increase in mobile usage and penetration rates gives added appeal to mobile marketing; especially with the declining effectiveness of traditional advertising channels, such as broadcast media. With the exception of voice, SMS is the most commonly used mobile technology and the majority of cell phones can send and receive messages; therefore the advertising messages can reach a huge audience. According to the Nielsen Company, 77 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used SMS by the end of 2007. SMS messaging (text messages) reaches users immediately since most users always have their cell phone; an advantage over email messages where there is lag time between when the message is sent and when consumers receive it. The ability to reach consumers instantly is beneficial for advertising campaigns such as sweepstakes and time-sensitive promotions. Mobile platforms also support multi-channel integrated marketing campaigns because of the tie-in opportunities with other advertising channels.  An example would be having a consumer text their opinion in response to a television program or radio broadcast.

Consumers tend to be reluctant with giving out their phone numbers; therefore it is important for the advertiser to present them with unique benefits and for the program to have clearly defined boundaries where users can control the marketers’ access. Consumers should be informed of the frequency of messages, any costs they will incur, and how to opt out of receiving the text messages. Marketers need to carefully target consumers with pertinent, personalized ads in order to prove the benefit of the service and avoid mobile marketing becoming equated with SPAM emails. Campaigns that are relevant and have a simple, direct call to action are the most effective.

Mobile Marketing is still in its beginning stages and is unlikely to have a large impact on a business in the immediate future, but it appears as if it will become increasingly important in the coming years. Effective mobile marketing requires building a database and setting up proper tracking procedures. Companies can get ahead of the curve and start building their databases and systems now so that they are ready when mobile marketing becomes widely adopted.

Mobile searching is also likely to see an increase in usage as smartphone usage becomes more widespread. It is predicted that by 2012 mobile search ad spending will be close to $1.5 billion, up from around $34 million in 2007. According to M:Metrics, nearly six out of ten iPhone users made searches with their handsets in January 2008. Mobile search is similar to web search, but they are not the same. Advertisers and mobile carriers are still figuring out exactly how mobile search should work. It is likely that mobile search will involve more than one method or model due to the fact that in the beginning consumers will probably use several modes and providers, rather than converging around a single solution.

Yahoo! and Google both have deals with cell phone carriers to include their search applications pre-loaded on the certain phone models. Current reports show that Google accounts for 61% of all mobile searches, Yahoo comes in second with 18% of the market, and MSN trails with 5% of the market. The iPhone is the main factor in Google’s lead; although the phones only account for 2% of the smartphone market, they are responsible for the majority of mobile searches, and Google is the default search engine on all iPhones. However mobile search marketing is still new and the winner will most likely be whoever can offer the most in terms of search functionality and ad serving.

Mobile Marketing is still in its early stages, but the outlook is promising for advertisers. Marketers should begin thinking about how mobile advertising and/or mobile search could fit into their marketing campaigns. Companies who develop an early strategy and work out the kinks while the channel is being developed are likely to see big results later on.

To find out more information on how mobile marketing could benefit your company contact JoAnna Dettmann at tSunela.

JoAnna Dettmann
p. 314.721.8813
e. joanna@tSunela.com

Some resources about Google Mobile Advertising campaigns:
Google Mobile Advertising on the Content Network
Google Mobile Advertising: Start Now!
Where can I find information on developing my own mobile sites?

Articles Referenced:
How to build a killer mobile database
Will the Google of mobile search arise?
iPhone pushes Google to early lead
Top 5 things to know about SMS advertising