On May 19th, Noel and I sat down with Carrie Terzo and Mary-Jane Turcotte from AdFarm to discuss mobile marketing in a little more detail. They were keen to investigate further for leveraging ideas for their clients and we were happy to provide some insight!
How do you (SpeakFeel) define Mobile Marketing?
Creating brand loyalty through communicating to your existing or potential client base via a mobile device. Ensuring a non-invasive and value-added experience for audiences that are potential target markets.
Is mobile marketing just a fad?
It is a fad if you treat it like one. Engaging in mobile marketing means that you are aware of the way that a consumer, employee or other key member engaging in your business interacts with life on a daily basis. For many years, cellphones and more recently SmartPhones, have proven to be key tools in day-to-day organizational functionality. The SmartPhone has taken that a step further by allowing end users to live their life by device. People receive emails, operate schedules and download various applications so that they can leverage their autonomy while on-the-go. Any marketer that doesn’t understand the value of the “intimacy” that a user has with their device is excluding a very exciting and key target audience. 80% of big brands have incorporated mobile into their marketing budget this year. That is saying a lot.
What sectors are quick adopters of mobile marketing and why?
Any news-related organizations (Globe and Mail, CNN) have been leaders in the mobile industry. People like to receive their news on-the-go and news agencies have embraced this. Content delivery is a perfect fit for the mobile device, as long as the content is timely and relative. Real Estate and Entertainment industries have also leveraged mobile marketing since inception. These are sectors that have natural users-on-the-go that either like to engage in experiences online, or find out key information right away. Moving forward, other sectors that are very interested in mobile technology are Education, Health and Agriculture. They might not be as interested in the marketing component as much as they are interested in interacting with students, faculty or field representatives in their daily functions. Leveraging internal processes cannot be ignored as a large opportunity for mobile technology. Anything from sharing local environmental conditions to displaying the quickest route to an examination room.
Is there a logical first step for companies interested getting into mobile marketing?
Our suggestion is for a client with an active traditional site to review their analytics over the last 6 months. Observe whether or not mobile users are hitting the website. You can gather what content they are interested in, what devices they are using and how long they are staying on the site. Google Analytics can give a great intro overview on their stats. This is a non-committing step! Remember though, your mobile users will only make up around 5-10 percent of your regular viewership if you don’t have a mobilized website. People tend to only visit once if your website does not have a mobile-specific alternative to the traditional site.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for mobile marketing within Ag Marketing?
The largest opportunity lies in delivering key functions to end users to make their lives easier. Mobile marketing is not about always pushing out “corporate jargon” to the audience. Mobile marketing is about embracing open relationships with your audience. It is about developing an interactive loyalty. Traditional web was about “bragging rights” for business. This is who we are, this is our product, this is our latest news etc. Mobile marketing really doesn’t embrace this mentality. Users are very selective about what goes on their devices. It has to be useful and hopefully time-saving or cost-cutting, or just plain enjoyable. A device user will not opt-in to a corporate feed about product announcements, but they will sign up for an interactive application that makes their lives easier.
Do you have any “watch outs” for companies considering mobile marketing activities?
Don’t assume that you have to go big or go home. Invest some time in getting to know your mobile audience. Review statistics and understand the environment in which the device user lives. Don’t treat mobile marketing like other forms of online marketing. Integrate it with other forms, but treat it like a knock on your audience’s front door at home. How can you make sure that the door won’t be slammed in your face right away? Mobile users are private and selective, so embrace this in your campaigns. Don’t underestimate your target audience. Don’t assume they aren’t ready for mobile. You will be very surprised. Chances are, your competitors are already engaging in this medium.
Thanks once again to Mary-Jane and Carrie from Adfarm. AdFarm is an agricultural agency that focuses on connecting clients to their farmer customers – through social media marketing, digital, direct, advertising, public relations and consulting.
Happy Mobile Apping and Webbing,
Kelly