Should You Advertise on Mobile Platforms?

You advertise your business in many ways, such as print materials, radio ads, social networking, and your website. You’ve spent a lot of time and effort developing your marketing strategy and implementing it across many different channels. But are you doing enough?

It’s no secret how popular smartphones have become, and there’s no sign that people will ever want to give up text messaging or having access to the Internet in their pocket. Mobile platforms are what will allow you to reach customers via smartphones wherever they’re located. Of course, beginning an advertising campaign on an entirely new channel isn’t easy or cheap. Before you invest, you want to know it will be worth it. So should you advertise your business on mobile platforms?

Who are Your Customers?

Before you begin advertising on mobile platforms, consider your target demographic. Many people own smartphones, and the number is only growing, so most businesses can reach their target audience with mobile marketing. If your target audience is under 18, you may find it slightly more difficult to reach them via mobile marketing; your mobile marketing strategy might be better directed at their parents. If your target audience is over the age of 45, especially 55 and over, you may also find fewer members of that audience with a smartphone.

Where are Your Customers?

Some businesses lend themselves very well to mobile marketing. If you have the type of business that people want to locate when they’re on-the-go, such as a restaurant or retail store, you can have a lot of success using mobile platforms to bring in new customers. Businesses that don’t get a high volume of walk-in customers or that require more research, like doctor offices, law firms, financial companies, and B2B, can still benefit from mobile platforms, but their mobile campaigns might be scaled down a bit.

How Do You Advertise on Mobile Platforms?

There are lots of different ways to take advantage of mobile advertising. Third-party platforms can help get your advertisements out to smartphone users. For example, you can pay to have your ads appear within apps that relate to your business in hopes of attracting those app users. You could also make use of things like QR codes, text messaging campaigns, and mobile landing pages that will optimize your website for smartphones. The methods you take advantage of, and how much effort you put into mobile platforms, will depend on your marketing goals. Everyone can benefit from listing their business on local listings such as Yelp, Google Places, and Foursquare.

The Bottom Line

For just about every business, it’s advisable to use some mobile platforms for advertising. As long as you don’t miss your target demographic or annoy people by sending unsolicited text messages, for example, you can usually benefit from mobile platforms. It’d be unwise to ignore mobile advertising considering how popular smartphones are for Internet use and local business searches. You should test the waters with mobile advertising now and work on discovering what method works best for your business.

This and many other educational articles helping web professionals understand the challenges of the web and how to promote business concepts online have been prepared for you by Travis Lee thanks to SEOMap – the keyword strategy experts.