Unfortunately, it’s not a priority for some businesses in a modern digital marketing company. They mention content marketing, SEO, SEM, SMM, and e-mail marketing, but rarely focus on text messaging. The company prefers and relies on the best apps for salespeople to access the market and provide value to customers.

It is essential to find the pros between text message marketing and e-mail marketing to see which is the best to implement in the business.

What is Text Message Marketing?

Photo taken from Thought Catalog

Text message marketing becomes increasingly popular with marketers because of the increasing demand for it. Smartphones are continuously evolving and becoming smarter with the help of technology. Access to information and communication tool have never been easier.

Text message marketing has two forms – SMS and MMS marketing. SMS or short message service allows 160 characters of plain text. A Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message has a subject line, a media file, and over 500 characters. Both types of messages support link insertion as smartphones become developed.

Both types of text message marketing ensure immediate delivery. Upon hitting “send,” the message transmits to the recipients. It only falters when there’s a technical error.

Setting a campaign for this type of marketing is easy. It can garner impressions and clicks less than five minutes because users and recipients can send their feedback with a tap on the “reply” button.

What is E-mail Marketing?

Photo taken from rawpixel

When compared with social media platforms, e-mail is more efficient at acquiring audiences and transforming them into customers. It’s because e-mail is both a personal and professional account. It also enables the business and users to develop their relationship based on storytelling and extended communication.

E-mails are longer than text messages. They can carry large media files and attach different file formats. Most of all, they can have videos and embedded links. These links push users towards a definite action that generates traffic to your site.

There are millions of people with email accounts and use them daily. E-mail marketing is one the digital marketing strategies with high return on investment. It generates a lot of money when it includes brands, products, services, and business news.

Influential e-mail marketing tactic requires investment. The business must have a professional email address. It also must be creative. It must have a catchy and enticing subject line to increase its open rate. The best subject lines have fifty characters at most.

The brand must think of its audience when crafting a subject line. The same goes for the whole e-mail construction. The message must function on mobile and include a clear call-to-action (CTA).

The Pros of Text Message and E-mail Marketing

Both text message and e-mail are traceable platforms. Tools are available to see if telecommunication subscribers and users open the message and clicked on the link. They also show data who ignore the messages.

Both are also highly regulated, which is good news for users, brand enthusiasts, and product subscribers. E-mail providers and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of the United States and the National Telecommunications Commission in the Philippines place regulations to protect consumers and marketers.

Their laws and filter prevent spamming. It also prevents brands and businesses to send messages to customers without their consent. Violating the act or memo subjects a fine to the company.

Most of all, both communication tools offer personalization. It provides an opportunity to connect with a client thru a personalized SMS, MMS, or e-mail. You can include the link in the text.

A Closer Look on Text Messages

However, text messaging continues to provide a better experience for its users. As technology develops and adds features to smartphones, text message links and linking out enables users to answer polls, respond to quizzes through their mobile web. The links also connect videos and other content quickly with a higher open rate than e-mails.

There’s also the rise of text messaging chatbot. Chatbots use artificial intelligence (AI) to maintain conversations with humans. As AI improves and gets smarter, so does chatbots. The continuous advancement of AI provides a better experience to users. Chatbots become human-like and hold real and evolving conversations.

Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging, a new protocol or the future of text message marketing, is already in Android messages chat apps. It’s development and added features changes the mobile messaging industry as a whole.

The Stand on E-mail Marketing

Nowadays, people communicate differently. They use text messages, chat apps, and video calls instead of exchanges through e-mail. Hence, several people think e-mail marketing starts to be ineffective to the masses.

Fortunately, it generates a high ROI when applied to the right niche. Almost everyone has an e-mail account, so it pays to pool resources to provide information, news, and services using the right CTA and subject line.

E-mail deliverability is crucial for this type of marketing. Select the best email service provider offering the right tools to create enticing e-mails. It’s best to test e-mails first before handing them out. Ensure they are readable on several devices, especially on mobile. Failing on mobile means losing half of the market.

Which type of marketing is worth the traffic?

Both text message and e-mail marketing are useful for traffic generation. The high open rate of text messages is perfect for targeting the masses while the exclusivity and creativity of e-mails make it perfect for business. The best type of marketing is the combination of techniques to know which tactic makes users and customers respond to the brand.

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Why Focus on Mobile Marketing Tactics

Mobile marketing opens several opportunities to expand a brand. Phones are part of people’s daily routines. They are personal, powerful, and disruptive even if they provide choices and information on the user’s hand. Hence, the mobile experience must be personalized similar to choosing the right smartphone that will change a life. Using mobile marketing creates meaningful connections with users. It makes your branding, products, and services accessible and available to the market. The marketing techniques will attract prospects as it aims to influence decision-making subconsciously. Mobile marketing tactics go beyond the communication aspect for consumers. It covers user interface, search engine, and social media marketing. It utilizes apps and data to find the best combination to transform visitors into loyal customers.

Mobile Marketing Strategies

To integrate an online marketing strategy for the business, here are five mobile marketing strategies to try.

1. Develop an app.

An app makes the customer’s life easier. It has less response time, more interactive, and serves as a two-way communications channel. It can also access the smartphone’s features like the camera, phone book, and other installed apps to provide supply tailor-fit information and data. It enables businesses to come up with a personalized offer, loyalty programs, and exclusive content. When designing an app, ensure it is navigable. Make a compact and straightforward user interface to increase conversion rate. The menu, footer bar, and call-to-action buttons must be where they should be, so the app leads customers to commit or do an action.

2. Improve your mobile site.

Aim for mobile friendliness. Follow the practices by experienced designers on creating a responsive web design. Prioritize the importance of navigation, so users stay and spend their time in your site. The menu must be easy to locate. Use the right theme to complement the elements in your site. The right background, buttons, fonts, and colors come together during an A/B test. Content is crucial for any website. Without the right mobile web design, users aren’t likely to recognize great content. The unappealing design pushes them to look at information somewhere else.

3. Create content based on device.

Content is part of a great mobile marketing strategy. Users use different methods to read or take-in their information, so writing for a desktop site is different for a mobile blog or an app. Some users skim while others read word per word. Creating a mobile-friendly content begins with the headline. The headline must be short, compelling, and persuasive. A tiny and straightforward headline fits small screens and piques the interest of users on the run. Besides the title, it’s also a must to inform readers what is in the discussion. The opening paragraph or conclusion must cover the basics of the idea behind the written content. It helps readers decide if the work is worth their time. Don’t forget to utilize white space. It reduces eye strain and makes it easy to separate the thoughts on each paragraph.

4. Think of Mobile SEO.

Optimize your website for search engines. Keywords are powerful in desktop and mobile organic searches. However, users react differently on each platform. Mobile users tend to type in specific and branded keywords because of their prior knowledge of their query. Some users use a desktop for generic searches on a topic, product, event, or industry. They shift to a smartphone or similar device once they are sure or at least have an idea additional queries. Other than keywords, page loading time is a ranking factor in several search engines. It’s best to optimize the site in these areas to increase ranking. Get the business listed on local maps. Use local SEO so users can find the company. Google My Business creates an online listing for the firm with relevant, useful information such as the address, contact number, and business hours.

5. Personalize your marketing approach.

An effective mobile marketing technique targets users. The app or website provides value through content that emotionally connects with its readers. The marketing tactics are also empathic as the business surveys its products and services through the customer’s lenses. There are several ways to personalize marketing strategies. The company can identify the consumer need. Solving a customer’s concern can target thousands of people who are also facing the same questions. Sharing a story is always a personal attack. A video or a testament from a customer or a successful campaign highlights the excellence and deeds of the brand. Use photos to elicit reactions from the people who visit the site. Creating a mascot or a distinct character separates your brand from others. A mascot for the blog makes it stand out from its niche. It also becomes easy to recognize as the character becomes the essential part of the site and mobile marketing strategy. Last but not the least, combine mobile marketing methods for user engagement. Don’t be satisfied with local and search engine optimization. Target social media marketing. Generate useful content on blogs, make podcasts, e-books, and (if possible) online courses. When you identify your core audience and target market, it becomes easier to personalize a marketing approach.

Mobile as a Sales Leverage

Apps and information on available on mobile enables users to shop and subscribe on services in the comfort of their homes. Businesses who use marketing strategies for smartphones are likely to get these customers through their efforts. Apps and users mobile data help companies as it does to the user. Smartphones are part of life, so mobile marketing techniques for customers and business are part of digital marketing this 2018.

The post How to Improve Business Mobile Marketing Strategy This 2018 appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

Here are some simple ways to do so.

Scale appropriately

Websites can scale to different devices. However, screen sizes generally differ, so it is only appropriate to make the site viewable on multi-screens. Adaptive web design is acceptable.

Just make sure that the site scales properly for both portrait and landscape.

Reduce page load time estimably

Landing pages should load quickly. While there are no hard rules, the standard is the faster the loading time, the better. It should be between 2 and 4 seconds. Anything beyond that will annoy your user. Make the page extremely lightweight, about 20 kilobytes.

Aside from keeping code nice, consider using image sprites and CSS.

Publish content prudently

Due to less space available, headlines should be short, direct and concise. The entire content should be clutter-free as well with only an image and few links. There should be a clear and strong call to action (CTA). Remember that around 75% of mobile searchers take action within an hour. Put the CTA where the user can easily see it.

As much as possible, create contents in digestible chunks. Listicles and bullet points are the best as they can be read in one sitting.

Make contents highly readable

Less is more for mobile consumption since being able to grasp every word on the screen is important. Use straightforward fonts. Make fonts bigger than usual.

Furthermore, don’t make the users scroll endlessly. They will get bored then, move on to the next.

Check forms and inputting meticulously

Keep forms on landing pages simple and accessible. Forms should be accomplishable in a minute or less. Few fields will do, otherwise the user will abandon the landing page because it is draggy.

Conduct the thumb test initially

Clickables should be tested, and they should pass a thumb test. Remove anything that cannot be easily clicked using your thumb. Pad the links so there should be adequate space around these links. Proper spacing between the links should be apparent as well, so users can tap the right link.

For a gallery-type landing page, make sure the photos can be easily swiped.

Ensure simple navigation

Navigation must be straightforward. Buttons should be minimum in number and should be scattered logically on various parts of the page.

Actions must be also kept to a minimum. In the mobile industry, more actions could mean the less desirability of completing them. Remember the three-click rule? Getting from points A to B should be simple enough the user will be encouraged to stay in the page.

Target locally

Mobile users are up and about. Tailor the page so it will be relevant to the local target market Alternatively, you may customize the content to reflect the local operation such as the nearest branch or store to the user.

Consider adapting core contents to the location of your target audience.

There are just some of the most important things to think about in optimizing mobile landing pages. The obvious fact is that mobile and desktop are two very different mediums. Nonetheless, mobile users are more impatient than PC users. Hence, it is critical to design a landing page with the users in mind. This could spell the difference between gaining and losing visitors and therefore leads and conversions.

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