Mistakes to avoid when using mobile marketing

More businesses are joining the wave of mobile marketing on a daily basis. Savvy business owners understand that the essence of good marketing, is placing your message where your customers are, and today that means finding them on their phones and other handheld devices. Mobile marketing has quickly become a phenomenon in the world of marketing. Businesses of every type and size are literally reaching out to their customers and letting them know what they can offer them.

One of the reasons that mobile marketing has become so big is that phones and other mobile devices, have begun to outnumber computers. Consumers are no longer stuck at home or in the office, to get the information they need, they can literally take it with them. In addition, the proliferation of smart phones, is due in large part that it is much cheaper to buy a phone, then a computer. This has lead to consumers of all ages and demographics, being able to be reached with mobile marketing. One of the biggest advantages to using mobile marketing, is businesses are finding that they can reach segments of their target market, that may have been missed by more traditional marketing methods. However, it is crucial that you do it right-the first time. Here are some mistakes to avoid when using mobile marketing-
- Don't treat your mobile users like PC users-While a PC user may be content to sit and download your entire website, or even navigate through several screens, you can be assured that your mobile user will not. You need to make sure that a mobile user can quickly access the information you want them to have, quickly and easily. What can help you most in avoiding this mistake is to have a plan. You need to know exactly what you want to have on your mobile marketing and what you want to accomplish with it. Basically the essence of good mobile marketing will be fast access to information, mobility in the information, an awareness of location and an experience that is interactive. This means that you need to avoid lots of words, data heavy images, slow downloads and requiring lots of clicks. Finally, make sure that whatever you are offering your mobile user is relevant and means something to them, or the entire marketing message will be lost.
- Don't overlook the limitation of any particular mobile device-Mobile devices come in all shapes, capabilities and most importantly sizes. This means that you need to take all of this into account, when you are designing your mobile marketing. Mobile marketing experts stress that the fastest way to lose mobile users is to assume that their mobile device can do the same thing as their computer. While phones and other handheld devices can do certain things that even a computer can't do, it's what they can do that you need to keep in mind. This includes but is not limited: the fact the screen is much, much smaller, the device will not have a mouse, (so you need to limit the need to navigate a great deal), and there is no printer. In addition, the keyboard on any mobile device is limited. This means that while a computer user may not mind typing a great deal, your mobile user will not appreciate it, so you need to keep it to a minimum. You should also keep in mind that bandwidth will be restricted to you need to keep your pages, images and any other files small, so that they can be received easily. However, with some creativity and planning, you can turn these obstacles into tools that help you deliver your mobile marketing message.