Work With Us To Turn Your SMS Campaign Into A Real Mobile Strategy

Work With Us To Turn Your SMS Campaign Into A Real Mobile Strategy

Even though impressive mobile marketing-related facts are regularly trotted out by the industry such as more people worldwide access the web via mobile browsers compared to desktop, some brands still think mobile is not for them. This is really unfortunate – especially in a mobile crazy, high potential country like the 55 million citizen South Africa. Firstly, let’s clarify what mobile marketing is really all about. According to a recently-released book of the same name, mobile is not a channel like social media, outdoor advertising or search; it is something that impacts all of the other marketing channels. Here at InTarget, we love that description because it clarifies that mobile ties it all together. In today’s hyperconnected world, mobile is the marketing glue that holds all of the consumer’s purchase-related decisions and actions together. While most of us would be familiar with mobile marketing through such obvious mobile tools as SMS, Please Call Me and location-based advertising; mobile is so much more. According to ‘Mobile Marketing’, it includes strategies and tools such as beacons, IM chatbots, virtual reality, mobile search, near-field communications (NFC) and more. Unfortunately, for SMEs and mid-sized owner-run businesses, terms like those listed above can make mobile marketing and advertising seem daunting. Take it from us: mobile is not only for large enterprises. With an experienced mobile specialist like InTarget, the small business owner will be talking the mobile business lingo like a pro in no time and generating the type of tangible business outcomes that make mobile campaigns so essential in challenging times. Speak to us about evaluating your SME’s current mobile marketing practices so...
Chatbots, Automation And Self-service Should Be On Your Mobile ‘to Do’ List

Chatbots, Automation And Self-service Should Be On Your Mobile ‘to Do’ List

Spring has sprung and this much-anticipated annual event on everyone’s calendar means there are now just four months to go until the end of the year. Of course, this also means that there are a mere 120 days left to refine your brand’s approach to mobile marketing, if you haven’t already done so. As we have said before, there really is no need to panic if you haven’t got all your mobile ducks in a row. The past is done. What’s important is to get moving on mobile now. Let’s forget about rehashing such illustrative stats as there are more people accessing the web via mobile than via desktop (that’s been the case globally for at least two years) and 80% of people have their cellphones within a metre of them most of their waking (and sleeping) day. We’ve discussed some mobile marketing plan fundamentals before that would have included such ‘to do list’ items for savvy brand managers as the absolute necessity of building a scaled-down mobile version of your website and the need to investigate location-based campaigns that help you connect with current and potential customers when they’re in your brand’s physical sphere of influence. So, to add to your already lengthy mobile to do list, here are some little-known, up-and-coming mobile must-haves that are worthy of investigation before the end of 2017. Firstly, chatbots are becoming big. Forbes magazines already predicted some time back that, in 2017, more brands will be able to serve consumers using conversational interfaces. Secondly, investigate automation. Sorry we can’t be more specific here, save to say that smart apps are ushering...
Mobile Enables Customer Engagement In Really Cool Ways

Mobile Enables Customer Engagement In Really Cool Ways

Watchwords come and go and two of the latest words we hear often in business lately are ‘customer engagement’. Of course, this might be the catchphrase of the moment but customer engagement really just means you care enough about your clients to reach out to them in ways that matter to them. This is simply good business practice. What else does customer engagement really mean? We like a simple definition provided by the business resource platform, Business2Community.com. According to this sage provider of sensible information, customer engagement is basically “any strategy you implement that will attract your targeted audience”. To InTarget, this screams mobile marketing. If you’re still unsure about the need to optimise your business strategy for mobile, here are two more great reasons your firm needs to get cracking and partner with the right mobile marketing provider: Mobile is where customers are. There’s no way of saying this in any other way: everyone you need to speak to has a cellphone. According to some sources, the average consumer is spending three hours a day on mobile. We think it is much, much higher with South African cellular users checking their mobile handsets at least every few minutes throughout the day. Now, aside from simply checking text message and WhatsApp icons, they’re also increasingly turning to their mobiles to conduct purchasing research and make decisions. Mobile users love emails. We don’t know why, but there’s something fabulous and very nifty about checking emails on a mobile device. A mobile strategy can really help you maximise your firm’s email marketing effort because clever mobile firms have come up with such...
Three Must-have Mobile Marketing Practices

Three Must-have Mobile Marketing Practices

We’ve said before that mobile marketing runs on numbers. What also true is that words grease the wheels of business – and specifically, quotes. Businesspeople the world over do seem to love a wise word or two, and especially when it’s delivered in the form of quotable quotes. A particularly quotable quote that I came across this morning while researching the topic of today’s blog is this one that I just love from Entrepreneur Magazine: “If you’re not being smart about reaching your customers via mobile, you’re leaving a ton of money on the table.” Toby Nwazor, a consumer goods marketer, came up with this one. It’s great because it states in no uncertain terms that we’re dealing with money here – real cash that’s being completely thrown away if you’re ignoring mobile marketing. There are three ‘must have’ mobile marketing practices that companies absolutely must adopt if they’re not to go the way of that venerable, 160 year old soon-to-be-extinct retail store, Stuttafords. InTarget can advise on all of these, so while we won’t go into detail here, you’re welcome to discuss them with us in much greater detail over really great coffee: 1. Location-based marketing is truly here. We can help you send notifications to current and potential customers via text and other mobile technologies who live or work within a certain radius  of the locations relevant to your brand. 2. In-app marketing offers the most personalised engagement possible with consumers. This drives retention, loyalty and lifetime value. This one is fantastic because you’ve already captured the customer and simply need to deepen the engagement. 3. SMS...
Three On-target Mobile Video Tips From Intarget

Three On-target Mobile Video Tips From Intarget

Mobile Marketing Watch says we’ll be spending a fairly significant 47 minutes a day watching online videos by the end of 2017. I found this statistic particularly interesting because one would have thought that it would be higher by now. Still, it does go to show what we’ve said many times before on this blog: video is huge, it’s growing, and it’s an area that absolutely demands attention from mobile marketers. The often-quoted statistic is that adding video to mobile marketing messages boosts engagement by customers by upwards of 30%. That alone is a compelling reason to add video to the mobile marketing mix. However, before you rush out there and go wild with the camcorder app, consider this sage advice about video in mobile marketing: Mobile technology has led to a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour that requires businesses to tell an emotional story quickly. The best way to do this is to lead with video because it produces the best conversion and engagement rates. Therefore, video tip number one is to “create to convert”. Video thumbnails, or small details of a video, can make or break your video’s chances of getting clicks. So make sure your video thumbnail attracts people to click on it while also sticking around to watch the entire video. You can use YouTube to improve your video’s SEO. YouTube offers excellent SEO potential, provided you can optimise your video description. To do this, you can insert a link where you want to send your traffic at the top of the description. You can also use target keywords. However, ensure they show up in...