So you're finally starting to get the basics of online marketing. You have a website and a blog. You might have a Facebook account with some engaged fans. You may or may not have a Twitter account but you’re definitely on LinkedIn!
You keep hearing about mobile marketing and how you can leverage it to grow your business yet you aren’t sure where to start.
15 Tips to Zoom Your Mobile Marketing Plan:
1. Mobile marketing is not a strategy. Doing mobile marketing should not be your objective. Mobile marketing is a medium for communication, marketing and relationship building. Mobile marketing should support your business, marketing and social media goals and objectives.
2. Don’t skip the plan. You’ve been without mobile marketing this long, it’s not going to destruct your business if you wait another 30-60 days to build a plan and do it right.
3. Avoid random acts of social media (RAMs). If you find yourself and your team thinking, doing and executing random acts of social media, stop immediately and do not pass go. Head to the nearest conference room and grab a marker, whiteboard and some chocolate. Take the time to develop your plan before the RAMs eat your quarter three profit!
4. Learn the ecosystem of social media first. It’s imperative you understand how mobile marketing fits into the bigger picture. Do some quick research, hire a consultant or agency if you aren’t sure yourself.
5. Develop a social media policy. Every business big and small should have a social media policy that defines how team members should and should not engage in social media. It will protect you and help guide you when and if something does go wrong. Make sure to include key contacts and processes for handling situations if they should arise.
6. Start with social listening. The best way to learn is to listen to what others are saying and doing. Check out your competition on your mobile phone. Can you see their website or blog on your phone? What social networks are they promoting and helping guide you to? How are they engaging with their community? How are they leveraging location based social platforms and apps such as FourSquare?
7. Don’t follow in the path of your competition. Just because your competition has a Foursquare account it doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. Define your own objectives and build your own plan. Copying others with no plan of your own is a recipe for disaster.
8. Don’t build a solo mobile platform without a home base. Make sure your goals and objectives include more than just the mobile platform. Where do you want the user to visit from a Foursquare or Facebook Places page? Do you want them to visit your blog? What do you want them to do when they get there?
9. Stay focused on your audience. Get in the head of your customers. What will help them succeed in life and business? Don’t launch a mobile platform that is focused on only you. You have only a few seconds to grab their attention. Make sure you do it with a focus on them, not you. Know where they are hanging out in social media. What are they talking about? What is the tone of the conversation?
10. Remember social media is one big conversation. Focus on understanding your audience and how you can have a relevant and engaging conversation with them. Mobile marketing is not just about getting Foursquare check-ins. You want people to tell their friends about you and your business. Focus on creating experiences using the social platforms that will inspire your audiences to have a conversation.
11. Mobify your website and blog. Check out your own blog and website on several different mobile phones. You might be surprised how good or bad it looks. Keep it simple and focus on good quality content. If your site is not mobile ready hire an agency to develop one for you. A simple mobile site should cost hundreds not thousands of dollars if you have a platform to support doing mobile in the first place. If you don't know where to start give us a ring and we can have your site up within the next 2-3 weeks!
12. Claim your location based pages on the social networks. At minimum this includes Foursquare, Google Places, Facebook Places. There are many others such as Gowalla, Scavngr etc. However, keep focused on the basics to start. Claim your business on Facebook and setup your business page including custom header and logo on FourSquare as a start.
13. Integrate your home base and other social platforms with your location based pages. Make sure to include and connect your Twitter, Facebook, website, blog urls with the location based accounts. Don’t wait to do this. Do this as a top priority or chances are you’ll never do it. Don't forget the importance of a consistent brand experience across the platforms. The last thing you want is a mobile presence that looks and smells nothing like the rest of your online and offline world.
14. Yes, real business does happen in social media. It’s true, connections are made that drive real business. Foursquare and Twitter are not just for kids silly rabbit! You may even find that your leads are better qualified that come in via the social media sales funnel.
15. Don’t focus only on how you will find the time and budget for social media. Instead focus on how you can integrate social media and mobile marketing into the DNA of your business. What can your sales and marketing team NOT do because of the integration of social media? What can they do better by using social media? How could your customer service and customer satisfaction metrics be improved due to the new communication medium that never shuts off and is always listening? Focus on the positive and how you can leverage social media for your business.
Your Turn
Are you using social media to help meet goals and objectives? What has been the result? Have you become frustrated before you got started? What are your concerns that are holding you back from using mobile marketing?
