10 Mobile Marketing Ideas For Local Business
Some of these mobile marketing ideas pertain to certain types of business. So just get a little creative to see if they will help your local business in any way possible.
You’re looking for more engagement on social media with these smartphone folks. This leads to likes, shares and more reviews.
You will notice that some of these mobile marketing ideas will overlay or you may need to use them together so they are more effective to produce better results.
The point here is to help your business get more customers by thinking outside the box. Some things you may already be doing. Consider yourself a smart marketer.
All of these ideas will help your establishment with the top local SEO ranking factors that your business will need to get a better rank score in the local search results. Yes, with better results your local businesses have more opportunity to be found by smartphone customers.
Here are 10 mobile marketing ideas that will get your local business going in the right direction to capture some of these smartphone visitors. Remember, everything your local business does must be mobilized for the people that use smartphones. In addition, you must have a responsive website design.
1. Social WiFi Marketing
Social WiFi marketing is going to be for the businesses that need to build a customer list. Usually, the businesses that will use this type of service have customers that are waiting, a lounge or a socializing area. They offer free WiFi.
It’s great for social engagement. Restaurants in Jacksonville and other communities should take advantage of this service. If set up properly, your business can get more likes, shares and more reviews. You allow your visitors to log in with their favorite social media site.
This would be a great service to offer for those of you wanting to start a digital marketing company in your home community that you live.
Social WiFi is a great product to lead with and it will help you sell your other services that you provide to your clients.
2. Digital Loyalty Punch Cards
Digital loyalty punch cards are designed for customer retention. There are not the old paper punch cards that coffee shops have used in the past. These are rewards given on a customers smartphone.
They also are a powerful social media engagement tool. It is a great way to build a list and build your brand. Customers love rewards and they will keep coming back to your local establishment. Not only that, customers will spend more money at your location to get rewarded.
You can come up with your own reward program. Example; say you’re the owner of a Nail Shop in Daytona Beach. After a customer gets their nails done the tenth time, offer the next one free. Just be creative and adjust to your products and services.
3. Mobile Coupon Marketing
Coupons work both online and offline. There are many companies that offer coupon marketing services. Take Groupon for example. Your business may be using them already. You can save money with coupons as well as offer your customers coupons. Valpak it’s another coupon marketing option that you might want to check out.
Now if you’re creative you can come up with your own coupons to market. If you got a pretty nice following on social media, you can post coupons on your fan pages to drive traffic to your location. You want to do it at the right times of the day for more effectiveness.
Example, let’s say you own a sports bar in Orlando and you usually have a good lunch crowd except on Tuesdays. Well blast your coupon on all your social media channels around 10;45 am and ask who’s coming to lunch today.
Another way is to send out an email blast to your customer list. It’s easy. Something like this, Bring Mom Down For Dinner Today! Save 10%. Let her enjoy the beach view, here in Daytona Beach.
Coupons work and they have been for many years. They are really easy to design and you can put codes on them to track your coupons. Social media makes it easy to share and it can bring customers to your place of business.
These coupons you place on social media become little billboards. They keep your brand in front of your audience. So, on all your coupons ensure you use your logo, name of your business, address and phone number. Keep it the exactly the same on all your literature and anything you post online.
4. Email Marketing
Email marketing is another great way for a local business to maintain contact, share coupons and getting reviews. It is wise for all local businesses to start building a list. There are plenty of ways to build your list of customers. Remember, the money is in the list. How many times have you heard that?
We know of a dry cleaner that sends an email to his list of customers using video. He thanks them with a short video and ask if they could give his company a positive review. That helps with his ranking on the local search results. Yes, being creative gives the old email one of the top spots for mobile marketing ideas. It’s reliable.
You may want to stay more organized and start building your list. There are many email services. One that grows with your business and you can start for free is called mail chimp. Every local business should be using email marketing. You can also use google’s G Suite. It starts at $5 a month and is well worth the value. It is mobilized for the smartphone market.
You should have some type of newsletter, VIP club or something similar to get people added to your customer list. Again, get creative. Maybe you have a Gym in Jacksonville. You could have a sign posted at the front counter that says, sign up for our newsletter and get our exclusive diet that will trim your tummy. You see where we are going with this. Creativity is key.
5. Text Message Marketing (SMS)
Text message marketing is one of the fastest ways to reach your audience. Think about how often you read your emails. You open your email when your good and ready. On the other hand, when you get a text message, your opening that text almost immediately. Curiosity is what invites you in.
Then smartphones at work again. It’s a proven fact that people open a text message faster than any other type of service. It probably works best for sports bars, night clubs, restaurants, retail, real estate, churches and nonprofit groups just to name a few.
Text messaging also known as SMS or Short Message Service is a great way to send out coupons and shout out any special events you may be having. You can send up 160 characters with this service.
Then for those that want to send photos, videos and other audio content you can use what is called MMS or Multimedia Messaging Service.
Both have terms and conditions that you will want to become very familiar with. Both for your business as well as for your customers. So read the fine print and make sure you understand it completely.
This type of service is not free. It is a paid service and many companies offer this type of mobile marketing service. We found a review of the best text message marketing companies for 2018. For those that are interested, it is a great read and the author Jill Bowers did a good job explaining everything.
6. QR Codes
QR stands for quick response. They can be used for many things but who has QR code reader. You can google it and probably get one in less than a minute. They can be great for information. If you need a QR code reader you can go to the Google Play for androids or the Apple store for I Phones and get the Kaywa QR reader app.
Maybe business cards. Someone can scan your QR code and have a great deal of information or whatever you would want to supply them. Events and other types of functions is a great way to pass out your card with QR Codes
Real Estate is another great way to use QR codes. Say you’re a Realtor in Daytona Beach. You have an empty house you’re trying to move. You will usually have a tube of some sort with the information about the home on some type of flyer.
Just put a QR code on a sign and let anyone that comes up to check it out scan the code and get all the info that you want them to have. No more rain-soaked flyers and the visitor gets all the info they need and your contact details if they have questions or want to buy the home.
If you’re going to use them, put them on everything you have to include, business cards, stationery, signage and even your website. It’s a great way for people to get information or details about things they want to know about.
Getting a little creative with QR codes can pay off and help you get the word out about your business. Even at an event, you could have every one of your employees wear T-Shirts with a QR code.
7. Video Marketing Is A Key Mobile Marketing Idea
Social media really likes, video and it is definitely one of the best mobile marketing ideas that you can use. Video marketing is so powerful that it probably won’t be long before we will be able to use smartphones and reach out and literally touch someone.
You really need to use video marketing because it is exploding and smartphones have paved the way. If you are not using video in your mobile marketing efforts you may need to change your thinking. It gives consumers content that they are eager to receive.
The cost of equipment has enabled almost anyone to perform this type of marketing. If you got a decent smartphone, use that to get started with your video marketing efforts.
Video marketing is one of the mobile marketing ideas you better be paying attention too. The market for video is exploding. Video content can be used for content for pretty much everything. It’s great for engagement. You can use video for emails, blog post, little talking billboards on social media. So get into video. We will talk more about this further down the page.
8. Social Media Marketing Is Key To Engagement
Social media marketing needs to be understood. People on social networks do not want to be hammered by old fashion sales pitches. You need to understand that you are building your brand and using it for recognition.
Everything you post on these social media sites is just little billboards so people will start to know who you are and what you do. It takes time to develop trust and to get them to follow you.
Show your audience a softer side of you and your business. Use the social media icons on your website. Comment often and share other local businesses content. Link your social profile to your website.
Use your social media in your emails. Answer complaints and questions quickly. Keep learning and do your research on social media. Each social network is different, so treat them that way.
Learn From The Experts about Social Media Marketing
Learn about the things you should be posting on social sites. Just because you use Facebook doesn’t mean your customers are there. We like what Moz has to say, fish where the fish are.
Moz has some training to help you build and engage on social media networks that are beneficial for local business. You need to read this because your business can benefit and reap big rewards.
Neil Patel also has some good advice about social media marketing for local businesses. Everything that you can learn will help you with your social engagement. We have chosen a couple of the top players to help you with these matters. Just take advantage.
In addition, social media marketing leads to more likes, shares, and reviews that you need to get a better ranking score in the local search results. Bottom line, more smartphone customers makes your business more profitable.
9. Paid Search Marketing Is The Fastest Way To Get There
Now paid search marketing is the quickest way to get results. If you DIY, make sure you get a little training on the subject. We get some great information about paid search marketing from Search Engine Land. There are a lot of sources on Google or Bing.
If your looking to boost your social audience then paid search may be for you. It’s a great way to build a following and capture more smartphone users on social media right in your local area. Especially for companies that are struggling, tying to build your brand.
You can get some amazing results using video to start your brand recognition. Seeing your faces of your company and even employees can go a long way. Show people what your company does. Let your audience see that you are human and that you care.
These videos that you use on social media do not need to be high caliber movie scenes. Use the equipment that you can afford, like a smartphone until you start rolling in the dough.
Test and retest. Use two ads so you can compare which one is working better. This will apply to any type of paid advertising. Can paid search, effect your organic listings? Not really, but paid search can have an effect on your organic ranking in the future.
Once people start recognizing your brand they will become more familiar with your local business. You will also get more traffic from paid search that can lead to more reviews and your business building more trust. Once this happens you start the snowball rolling. It takes time but yes, it can benefit in the long run.
10. Proximity Marketing
Proximity marketing is gaining a foothold with some of the big retailers. It seems that they are working with two different types of beacons. The first is a WiFi Beacon and the second is a Bluetooth Beacon. Bluetooth beacons normally require an app and the customer would need their Bluetooth enabled.
They are still in the stage trying to figure out what technology is best suited for its applications. There are other tech solutions that are being tested like GPS system and Satellite navigation. We’ll have to wait and see, what ends up being the go-to solution.
They offer a nice opportunity to engage a customer as they approach your location, during the visit and when the customer is leaving. The system is quick and easy to set up. You might be able to set up a campaign in less than 30 minutes.
What types of businesses are using proximity marketing? Quite a few are gaining momentum. Here are a few types of businesses using proximity marketing;
- Retail & Super Markets
- Bars & Restaurants
- Amusement Parks & Events
- Car Dealerships
- Real Estate
- Saloons & Fitness Clubs
- On The Go Business (Plumbers, Contractors & Cleaning Businesses)
Now with the WiFi Beacons, you can even be on the go. People will know your there and what you do. Technology is making it easier to have engagement with smartphones. Another one of the great mobile marketing ideas that can benefit your business.
It would appear that shopping malls, retail stores, and hotels are the ones that are benefiting the most. Retail and fast food is coming on strong. According to Beaconstac, 25 retailers are nailing it.
Is proximity marketing one of the biggest mobile marketing ideas that local businesses will use one day? We definitely are moving in the direction.
NFC Tags
NFC stands for near field communication. These are basically a smart chip that can hold vast amounts of information. They allow smartphones to grab the information that they contain.
In addition, they are a passive device, meaning they require no power of their own. They would need a device to come into range in order for it to supply the power to transfer the information, like a smartphone.
NFC tags are very inexpensive. You can probably pick these chips up at Amazon. You could use these for almost anything. Like at a bus stop, or tap it and get your restaurant menu.
Whatever information you wanted to program in. It would store that info until it was activated by a device such as a smartphone. You can gain more knowledge on NFC tags at Android Authority.