NuVoodoo’s Mobile Marketing Guide Part 2: How to Demystify the Landscape to Arrive at Better Smartphone Marketing Strategies

If you’re confused about how to spend your mobile marketing dollars, you are not alone.  Advertisers often feel overwhelmed by the many strategies and tactics available for mobile marketing campaigns. From social media ads and in-app advertising to SMS marketing and hyperlocal GPS-dependent strategies, there are numerous options to choose from.  It helps to have experts on your side.

In this installment of NuVoodoo’s Mobile Marketing Series, we’ll share the key steps we walk our clients through during the onboarding process to hone strategy.  Later, we’ll review the pros and cons of various mobile marketing options to help you determine the most effective mobile marketing tactics for your brand or business.  (See our recently gathered data about which platforms command the highest ad attention here.)

After dozens of partner meetings, we’ve identified three key issues we confront regularly when discussing smartphone marketing strategy with new clients.  Even when we’re presented with meticulous creative briefs that reflect a deep understanding of the target market, getting ahead of these potential stumbling blocks as early in the campaign development process as possible, prevents analysis paralysis and helps our clients prioritize choices.

1. Audience Fragmentation: Mobile users vary in demographics, behaviors, and preferences. Even consumers’ smartphone device preferences have a bearing on potential campaign success. Advertisers must consider how to target and engage different segments effectively, which can be overwhelming when creating tailored campaigns.  For example, certain demographic groups frequently allow location tracking, while others don’t.  That impacts targeting strategy and advertising tactics.  Understanding which consumers are particularly sensitive about their personal data privacy is essential.  That’s why we offer our clients complimentary access to NuVoodoo ongoing perceptual and behavioral study data.  It’s the same proprietary research we employ to optimize digital marketing campaigns of all types.  We also conduct proprietary research specific to our client’s business needs.
2. Data and Analytics: Mobile marketing generates a ton of data. Advertisers need to collect, analyze, and interpret these data to make informed decisions. The availability of multiple analytics tools and metrics can be daunting. Testing with small budgets and different creative approaches, then letting the data be a guide, is a must.  Avoid the temptation to go with only one idea or single assumption without first split-testing.
3. Budget Constraints: Advertisers may have limited budgets, making it difficult to invest in all available mobile marketing channels. Deciding where to allocate mobile marketing resources can be a challenge.

Custom NuVoodoo market studies can pinpoint specific opportunities. For one retail client, for example, our research pointed to expanding into specific neighboring cities as a better opportunity for growth than attempting to woo new customer segments within the same market.  In another study, we identified regular customers of a specific client competitor and discovered that these consumers were simply “settling” for the product we were selling (meaning, it was the best available but not what truly met their needs).  We focused mobile ads on switch pitching those customers with fraying loyalties specifically during and immediately after their visit to these competing locations, incenting purchase of our client’s new, better, and different product alternative.

To narrow down choices for the most effective mobile marketing strategy, advertisers can take several steps.  Here’s a checklist for your next planning meeting:

• Define Clear Objectives: Start by setting specific, measurable, and realistic goals for your mobile marketing campaign. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you choose the best strategies.
• Know Your Audience: Understand your target audience’s demographics, preferences, and behaviors. Tailor your mobile marketing tactics to resonate with your audience effectively and efficiently.
• Conduct Market Research: Analyze your competition and industry trends to identify successful mobile marketing strategies. This can provide insights into what works in your unique niche.
• Prioritize Channels: Instead of trying to be everywhere, focus on the mobile channels and platforms that are most relevant to your audience. Consider factors like platform popularity, user engagement, ad formats, and especially, the desired business outcome.
• Test and Iterate: Experiment with different mobile marketing strategies on a smaller scale to see what works best. Use A/B testing and analytics to measure the effectiveness of each tactic, as well as your creative.
• Budget Allocation: Allocate your budget based on the channels and strategies that have shown the most promise during testing. Be willing to adjust your budget allocation as campaign performance evolves.
• Consistency and Integration: Ensure consistency in your messaging and branding across all chosen mobile marketing channels. Integration and coordination of campaigns across various platforms can enhance their impact.
• Measure and Optimize: Continuously monitor the performance of your mobile marketing campaigns. Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess success and make data-driven adjustments to improve results.
• Stay Informed: Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies in mobile marketing. Attend conferences, webinars, and workshops to gain insights and network with experts.
• Seek Professional Help: If navigating the mobile marketing landscape becomes too overwhelming, consider enlisting the expertise of a mobile marketing agency and/or research firm, that can provide insight and/or execute campaigns effectively. At NuVoodoo, we handle both.

By following these steps and staying focused on goals and audience, advertisers can streamline their mobile marketing efforts and select the strategies and tactics that are most likely to deliver positive results for your brand or product. In our final chapter, we’ll marry strategy with tactics and discuss the pros and cons of the most popular mobile ad formats.