Six Tips for Mobile Marketing to Engage Customers

People love their smartphones. Whether you’re walking down the street or inside a shopping mall, sitting in a coffee shop or at the airport, half the people around you are looking down at their cellphones.

Eighty-three percent of American adults own a cell phone, and 42 percent of them own a Blackberry, iPhone, or a similar smartphone, according to a recent Pew Internet Project report. The study also found that 87 percent of smartphone users access the Internet or email on their device. Two-thirds of smartphone users do so daily. Increasingly, just as how the home broadband connection remains always on, the mobile connection seems to be ever present.

Today’s apps-savvy consumers want business information delivered concisely and available for reading on the fly. Thanks to the explosion of Internet-enabled mobile devices, you and your customers can communicate on the go. Here are six easy ways to deliver on mobile devices marketing that encourages customer interaction.

1. Make Your Emails Mobile-Friendly
Whereas delivering email marketing that can be read on mobile devices used to be optional for a business, now it’s essential. Keep a message’s subject line short and place high up in the message your brand name, the offer, and the call to action.

Related: Your Customers Are Talking. Are You Listening?

Keep your email design simple and light on text, and offer a link to your company’s website or Facebook page so a reader can find out more.

2. Give Mobile Customers What They Need
Forty percent of U.S. smartphone owners compare prices on their mobile device while shopping inside a store, according to HubSpot, an Internet marketing firm in Cambridge, Mass. If you do not optimize your site for mobile users, you may miss sales opportunities. The most sought-after information (a company’s hours, locations, and directions) and popular features should be front and center where customers can easily find them. If mobile consumers cannot find the information they need to guide their purchasing decisions, they may click — but then take their business elsewhere.

3. Invite List Sign-ups via Text Message and Quick-Response Codes
Customers entering into your retail establishment probably are carrying their cellphones on them. Build your contact list by inviting patrons to send a text message (if your email service provider offers this feature) or scan a QR code. Put a sign at your cash register to encourage such activity while the shopping experience is still fresh.

Related: Three Ways to Spark Engaging Social Conversations

A savings coupon or special offer can sweeten the deal for any customers who sign up via text message or QR code. And you end up building your list without having to manually enter email addresses after deciphering handwriting on a sign-up sheet.

4. Build Your Fan Base
Your socially active customers have a Facebook or Twitter app loaded on their smartphones. A sign or poster that encourages them to connect with you in the social media sphere can propel significant growth of your network — and expand your company’s visibility to the contacts of your new followers. Be sure to give customers a good (and fun) reason to like or follow you.

5. Tap Location-Based Services
If you run a brick-and-mortar business or host an event, encourage people to check in on location-based services like Foursquare, Gowalla, or Where. You will gain information about your regular customers and how often they visit you. It also lets your customers share information and tips about your business with others. A unique special offer can encourage these regulars to check in more often.

6. Encourage Reviews on the Run
Encourage customers to share their thoughts about their experience while they are still at our place of business. Post a sign that says, “How’d we do? Let us know!” You can even direct customers to sites like Yelp, Where, Google Places, or TripAdvisor, where you would like them to offer reviews of your business. Make sure you post your company’s Twitter handle, so customers can include it in reviews and follow your business on Twitter for updates. Be sure you stay on top of any customer reviews posted about your company.

More mobile technologies are springing up, enabling businesses and customers to stay connected, regardless of location. Remember: All these gadgets and apps can support your marketing but they should not drive it. You still need to focus your message on how your company provides great products and services. Know who and where your customers are. Then bring the goods to them. Mobile strategies let you package your marketing to better reach them.

Related: Five Ways to Win a Sale Using Your Customer’s Mobile

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Facebook Launches Ad Targeting by Topic

Facebook recently added the ability to target advertisements by Topic, as detailed in its new Interests Targeting guide (.PDF). Rather than targeting users that Like a specific Page, advertisers can simultaneously target all users who Like any variation of a word or phrase. For example, rather than just targeting fans of Lady Gaga, by selecting the #Lady Gaga Topic, an ad will also be shown to fans of any unofficial Pages for the musician, such as “I ♥ Lady Gaga”.

The new targeting option, available in both the self-serve ads tool and the Ads API, will help advertisers expand the reach of their ads to more relevant users. It will be especially handy for less experienced advertisers who might not know to explicitly target keywords related an interest of their customers.

Topic targeting joins Facebook’s two other interest targeting options: the original, default Precise Interest targeting for advertising to fans of a specific Page; and the relatively new Broad Category targeting for advertising to wide ranges of users with similar profile characteristics such as newlyweds, or Likes of any Page related to large category such as football.

Advertisers employing Precise Interest Targeting can miss out on showing their ads to relevant people because Facebook users sometimes Like related or unofficial versions of Pages rather than the official version owned by the company or celebrity the Pages represent. These users might be willing to click through ads and make purchases, so missing them through Precise Interest targeting hurts ad performance.

With the new Topic targeting option, when advertisers type in a keyword to target in the Precise Interest targeting section of the self-serve ad tool, the typeahead will now bring up Topics denoted with a hash (#) tag in addition to specific Pages. Advertisers can select these #topics to include anyone who Likes official, related, or unofficial Pages associated with that Topic.

Topics also now appear as targeting suggestions. This means if an advertisers targets Lady Gaga as a Precise Interest, Facebook will show suggestions to also target the #Lady Gaga topic to reach additional users. These suggestions might also include additional pop music singer Precise Interests such as Katy Perry or Beyoncé, and Topics such as #Beyoncé Knowles.

Topic Targeting Strategies

Advertisers using keyword targeting should consider simultaneously running Precise Interest targeted ads and Topic targeted ads as separate campaigns, as this will allow them to determine how effective Topic targeting is. Targeting multiple topics within the same campaign may make it difficult to refine targeting to the best responding demographics, so advertisers should consider running ads for different Topics in different campaigns.

Those targeting a variety of specific keywords should think about which are the most relevant to their customers and try also targeting the corresponding Topics. Targeting too many Topics may dilute ad spend. There may be a higher probability that fans of unofficial Pages encompassed by Topic targeting are less savvy Facebook users than those that are fans of official Pages. Therefore, advertisers pitching more sophisticated products and services may receive more unqualified clicks by targeting Topics.

Less experienced advertisers, those with smaller budgets, and those with less time time to spend managing ads have a lot to gain from Topic targeting, as reduces the need to identify a wide range of individual but related keywords. Advanced advertisers using the Ads API tools and services should consider adding Topic targeting into their A/B tests to determine when Topic targeting can improve ad performance for their specific business.

With Topic targeting and the recently launched zip code targeting, Facebook is significantly increasing the ways advertisers can reach potential customers on Facebook. By providing an easier experience for novice advertisers and opening new strategies for veterans, Facebook may be able to ride these new feature launches into increased advertising revenue.

More Facebook advertising strategies, including how to run integrated marketing campaigns that combine ads and Sponsored Stories with Pages and apps, can be found in the Facebook Marketing Bible.

[Thanks to Eti Suruzon for the tip]

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