Know how to publicize your product with digital marketing.

Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as SMS marketing, is the modern evolution of direct marketing. Direct marketing has always been favored by companies as a specialized and focused method of reaching new customers and, with the rise of mobiles, mobile marketing has increased in popularity. SMS marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of advertising products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a quick, focused, personal and economic way.

The most prevalent form of mobile marketing is SMS marketing, which has expanded very quickly in Europe and Asia. It is thought that several hundred million marketing messages are sent via SMS every month in Europe alone. SMS stands for 'short message service' and is a communication form specific to mobiles where a short message can be easily sent to any mobile phone owner. As well as sending material to consumers, advertisers can often encourage consumers to participate in marketing and brand exposure promotions by encouraging consumers to SMS a specific number at an event in order to enter a competition, to receive a gift or to have their SMS displayed on a multimedia wall at an event. All of these techniques involves the consumer through the medium of SMS and creates brand awareness.

There are a range of other types of mobile marketing. One variation is sending texts via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing consumers to receive MMS with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where companies promote marketing goals through websites accessed by mobiles. Promoters often make innovative use of mobile marketing such as location-based services where consumers are offered tailored marketing and other network-related information and marketing material based on their whereabouts. With the multitude of techniques and options available to companies, it is to be expected that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to advertise their products through mobile marketing by the end of 2008.

SMS marketing is an example of what is known within the industry as "push" marketing. The idea behind push marketing is that that the business has to send (push) the information to the subscriber in order for the material to be received. This is different to "pull" marketing, a passive form of marketing, where it is users who seek out the material from sources such as websites or blogs.

There are many advantages to mobile marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this mode of marketing can be tailored to the consumer. This is the ideal in marketing as it means getting the material specifically to the people it's aimed at, rather than wasting money on an unfocussed campaign. The specificity allowed by this mode of advertising, which results in a more cost-effective campaign, is one reason why a high return on investment is possible with mobile marketing. Another advantage of mobile marketing is the detailed tracking and reporting of users it permits. Through this medium, promoters can track how many users saw their material and also access specific information about each subscriber such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they're located. This permits a business to build up profiles of their subscribers; information which then guides future promotional campaigns and, ideally, their success.

It is noted in the industry that push marketing, of which mobile marketing is a form, can help drive new cash flows and brand exposure if it is implemented correctly and sensitively. This is because it makes consumers aware of new changes that they may not think to find already and the way a message is written, and even the fact that the material is being delivered by a contemporary, hip medium such as SMS, can say a great deal about a brand and a business.

There are, however, some disadvantages to mobile marketing. By its very nature, it needs a mechanism – the mobile phone – to be able to send content. The marketer, as well, must make use of specific technology and applications in order to deliver the message to subscribers, which can equal substantial outgoings. Another disadvantage is the fact that mobile marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to customer worries about what information and marketing they get shown. Most Western countries have laws in place that compel businesses to gain the consent of subscribers before promotional information is sent to them and must clearly give them with an 'opt out' option if they wish to stop receiving information. If companies are found to be in violation of these laws, network providers can block marketing material by businesses.

As mobile technology develops, mobile marketing will surely continue to increase in relevance.