Online marketing

Marketing with mobiles

With more mobile phones than people in Australia and the fast growth in smart phones, a large and increasing number of Australians are now accessing the internet from their mobile phone.

The smartphone market has experienced major growth in the last few years, particularly in Australia. According to a 2009 report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, Australia has a higher adoption of third generation mobile phones (that is, mobile phones that can access voice and data, particularly online, services) than Europe and the United States. Close to 46 per cent of Australians who owned a mobile phone, owned a third-generation phone, and 32 per cent of them used it to access the internet.

Given the high levels of smartphones of Australia, you may want to consider structuring your website so that it is optimised for mobile browsers or developing a mobile application for different types of mobile platforms. This will increase the findability and accessibility of your online presence for smartphone users.

In addition, you may wish to actively market on mobile platforms. When devising a campaign, it is useful to consider that this is a different medium. For any marketing campaign, you will need to think about how to adapt it to leverage the different characteristics of a mobile platform.

As with online marketing you may want to consider including a clear and simple call to action in your mobile advertising. This will increase your engagement with your customers, donors or supporters and provide you with better feedback about what resonates with your audience.

In devising an online marketing campaign for mobiles, it is useful to consult with an agency or developer with skills and experience in mobiles. Some of the options you may wish to explore with them are outlined below.

Mobile web

It is possible to place paid ads on websites specially designed to be accessible from mobile devices. Such advertising is usually charged for as pay per click or pay per impression.

To improve your ad’s performance, you should check where it will appear on the mobile site. If your ad is displayed in the upper part of the screen it is likely to perform better, as users will see it without scrolling down.

In-app advertising

Placing advertisements within mobile applications (mobile apps) is an increasingly popular option. Allowing for these advertisements makes sense from the application developer’s point of view, in order to get the best market adoption of their product by reducing or eliminating the price of the application to the end user. As with other marketing activities it is important to ensure a strong match between the users of such applications and your target audience.

SMS and MMS

You may also want to consider sending text messages to customers, supporters or donors promoting your services, letting them know about special offers or reminding them of some other call to action. Messaging is in many ways similar to email marketing in that you need to have the contact details of your customers and they need to have agreed to receive messages from you via this medium. In particular, you will need to ensure that you comply with Australia’s privacy laws and anti-spam laws. SMS has its limitations as it is text only; it is, however, the mobile advertising tool that still has the ability to reach all phones. In addition, it is fast, cheap and popular. You can also include links to online content in the message so that people who access your message via a smartphone can find out more information.

If you are a member of a community organisation, messaging may be a useful strategy for you to explore. The possibilities of mobile viral marketing campaigns for organisations were demonstrated by donations made via mobile phones in response to the 2009 earthquake in Haiti. The American Red Cross raised a substantial amount of funds very quickly for Haiti relief by utilising mobile technologies. For more information, see the case study Text-to-Give Fundraising Campaigns Take Off.