Know how to publicize your product with mobile marketing

Mobile phone marketing, otherwise known as digital marketing, is the modern evolution of direct advertising. Direct advertising has always been supported by businesses as a specialized and focused way of reaching potential consumers and, with the advent of cells, mobile marketing has increased in usage. SMS marketing is perhaps best defined as the practice of marketing products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a quick, focused, personalized and cost-effective way.

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

There are many other methods of digital marketing. One example is sending texts via MMS, which is a multimedia version of SMS, allowing consumers to receive texts with color, pictures and video. There is also mobile web marketing, where companies promote marketing aims through websites accessed by cells. Publicists often make innovative use of mobile marketing such as location-based services where consumers are offered custom marketing and other network-related information and marketing material based on their whereabouts. With the range of methods and choices available to promoters, it is no wonder that a recent marketing survey found that 89% of major brands planned to market their products through digital 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 material to the subscriber in order for the information to be received. This is opposite to "pull" marketing, a passive form of advertising, where it is consumers who seek out the content from sources such as websites or blogs.

There are many positives to mobile marketing. Primarily, the attraction is that this mode of advertising can be personalized to the user. This is the ideal in marketing as it means getting the campaign specifically to the people it's focused on, rather than squandering money on an broad campaign. The personalization allowed by this type 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 recipients it permits. Through this form, promoters can track how many groups viewed their information and also access detailed data about each subscriber such as their name, their age, their demographic and where they're located. This permits a company to raise profiles of their customers; data 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 type, can help drive new cash flows and brand reinforcement if it is executed correctly and sensitively. This is because it makes subscribers aware of recent additions that they may not think to find already and the way a message is phrased, and even the fact that the information is being sent by a contemporary, hip medium such as SMS, can say a lot about a brand and a business.

There are, however, some negatives to mobile marketing. Inherently, it must have a mechanism – the cell – in order to send information. The marketer, as well, has to make use of specialized equipment and applications in order to send the content to subscribers, which can equal considerable outgoings. Another disadvantage is the fact that mobile marketing is heavily regulated by the telecommunications industry in response to customer worries about what data and marketing they get shown. Most Western countries have laws in place that compel marketers to get the consent of subscribers before promotional material is received by them and must clearly provide them with an 'opt out' option if they wish to stop receiving information. If businesses are found to be in violation of these laws, network providers can block marketing information by marketers.

As mobile technology improves, mobile marketing will certainly continue to gather in importance.