What is mobile marketing?

Mobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy to promote products or services via mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile marketing allows you to reach your target audience on the devices they most frequently use, which can boost engagement and revenue.

Mobile marketing is a multi-channel technique that involves SMS, MMS, social media, push notifications, and in-app advertisements.

5 benefits of mobile marketing

Compared to traditional marketing methods like TV, radio, or print, mobile marketing offers these 5 unique benefits:

Broad audience reach: Mobile marketing is an ideal way to contact potential customers wherever they are, whenever you want.
Cost effective: Mobile marketing message costs vary by provider, but they’re cheaper than a 30-second TV ad that can cost thousands of dollars. Mobile marketing allows you to reach a larger audience at a fraction of the cost.
Personalization: 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences, and 76% are more likely to consider a brand that offers them. Mobile marketing is one of the best ways to collect personal data and use it to craft a personal experience for potential buyers.
Real-time communication: Send subscribers time-sensitive offers, promotions, and updates instantly. Use push notifications to remind people about abandoned carts or notify them of new products.
Localization: Some mobile marketing tactics allow you to use geo-fencing to target people with location-based offers and promotions.

Effective mobile marketing strategies

Mobile marketing is a combination of different marketing channels and delivery methods to reach and engage audiences. These include:

1. Short message service (SMS) and push notifications

SMS and push notifications are short, direct messages sent to mobile phones. You can use them to:

Promote offers, discounts, and new products
Remind people about abandoned carts
Notify subscribers of upcoming events or sales
Share helpful information like order updates or delivery notifications
Send personalized recommendations based on customer data

2. Multimedia messaging service (MMS)

MMS messages support multimedia content like images and GIFs. They have a higher character limit than SMS and are ideal for visual and interactive content like:

Meme content
Product launches with high-quality images
Behind-the-scenes visuals
User-generated content

Note that MMS messages are more expensive than SMS and may not be supported by all devices in all regions.

3. In-app advertisements

In-app advertisements appear within a mobile app in the form of banners, overlays, pop-ups, or native ads. Use them to promote your products, encourage app downloads, or redirect users to your website.

4. In-game advertisements

Similar to in-app advertisements, in-game ads appear within a mobile game. They pop up during gameplay, before or after a level, or as sponsored features.

In-game ads promote products or services related to the game’s theme or target market. If you own a fitness brand, for example, you can advertise in a game that attracts health and fitness enthusiasts.

5. Social media marketing

Use TikTok, Facebook, etc., to:

Share posts and updates about your brand, products, or services
Run paid ads targeting specific demographics or interests
Collaborate with influencers to reach a larger audience
Post user-generated content for social proof and credibility
Create a community and engage with customers through comments, messages, or live chat

6. QR code marketing

QR codes are machine-readable barcodes people can scan with their mobile devices to access a website, landing page, app, or promotional offer. To drive traffic and conversions, print them on product packaging, flyers, posters, etc.

Adding QR codes to your email campaigns or social media posts is also a smart move because it lets you link directly to promotions or product pages. This makes it easy for your people to check out your offers through your emails or social media posts.

7. Proximity marketing

Proximity marketing uses location-based technologies like geofencing, Wi-Fi, near-field communications (NFC), or Bluetooth beacons to send targeted ads or notifications to mobile devices when they’re in a specific location.

You can set up a geo fence around your store and send a promotional message to subscribers within that radius. Proximity marketing is excellent for promoting in-store offers, events, or loyalty programs.

Helpful tips to create a successful mobile marketing strategy

If you want to implement mobile marketing into your omnichannel strategy, follow these steps:

1. Find a reliable marketing automation platform

To get the most out of your mobile marketing, choose a marketing automation platform that supports SMS, MMS, and push notifications. Look for features that are helpful with these channels, such as:

Multi-step forms that allow you to collect phone numbers from your email subscribers
A 24-hour default attribution window for more accurate tracking of your mobile campaigns
Multi-channel flows and campaigns that let you integrate SMS, MMS, push notifications, and email

2. Define your goals

When setting goals for your mobile marketing efforts, make sure they are SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound

For SMS marketing, it’s important to focus on goals that let you see results quickly. This way, you can easily track how many people are engaging with your SMS offers within a short timeframe, such as 24 to 48 hours, and use this data to tweak and improve your future campaigns.

For example, you can send an SMS offering 20% off a new or less popular product and track how many people redeem the discount within 24 hours. If 150 out of 1,000 people take advantage of the offer, it shows it was effective and appealing. From there, you can adjust future promotions—maybe feature different products or tweak the discount amount.

3. Create a sending schedule

Timing is crucial in mobile marketing. Use data and analytics to determine the best times to send messages based on your audience’s behaviors, time zones, or industry trends.

The best practices are to:

Avoid sending messages before 8:00 am and after 9:00 pm in the recipient’s time zone, to remain compliant with the TCPA.
Use A/B testing to determine the optimal frequency for your audience.
Focus on sending messages that your subscribers actually want. People love getting updates like shipment and delivery confirmations, coupons, and order confirmations. On the flip side, sending too many abandoned cart reminders or low inventory alerts can annoy your subscribers.
Keep your content relevant and valuable. For example, birthday deals and exclusive offers are usually well-received, while too many generic sales messages or irrelevant content can drive people to unsubscribe. Make sure your messages aren’t repetitive and always have a clear purpose to keep your audience engaged.

4. Get to know your audience

A winning mobile marketing strategy entails truly understanding your audience. Here’s how to get there:

Dig into market research: Find out where your audience spends the most time online, what they’re interested in, and how they use mobile devices. This will help you tailor your messages to their preferences and interests.
Talk to your current customers: Use polls, surveys, and quizzes to gather insights on what drives their purchases and how they view your products.
Keep an eye on competitors: See what’s working for them—analyze their strategies, promotions, and customer interactions to find opportunities for your own approach.
Build detailed buyer personas: Create profiles of your ideal customers based on your research. Include details like their demographics, interests, and mobile habits.
Test and refine: Continuously test your buyer personas and adjust your strategies based on real-world data and feedback to make sure you’re always on target.

5. Build an SMS list

Collect customer phone numbers through sign-up forms, social media contests, or in-store sign-ups to build an SMS list. Get explicit consent and allow customers to opt out at any time. Segment your lists based on their preferences, location, or brand interactions for targeted messaging.

6. Send personalized and compelling messages

Personalizing your messages can lead to a boost in engagement and conversions. When you address subscribers by name and tailor offers based on what they’ve browsed or bought before, they’re more likely to open your messages, click on links within, and make a purchase.

Keep your messages:

Short, clear, and action-oriented
Relevant and timely based on the season or cultural moment (if it makes sense for your brand)
Appealing and attention-grabbing with emojis, images, or GIFs
Consistent with your brand voice and tone
Compelling with a clear call to action (CTA)

7. Test and optimize your campaigns

Unlike email marketing, where A/B testing often involves subject lines and other key elements, mobile A/B testing focuses on different variables like SMS vs. MMS, emoji usage, and message length.

Here’s how to get it right:

Change one thing at a time: Test just one part of your SMS messages, like a new CTA or message length, to see what makes a difference.
Compare SMS and MMS: See if your audience responds better to messages with images or GIFs (MMS) or plain text with emojis (SMS). MMS can be more engaging but costs more.
Experiment with emojis: Test how using emojis affects engagement. Emojis can make messages more fun but might cut down your character count.
Try different message lengths: Check if shorter or longer messages get better responses from your subscribers.
Test send times: Find the best times to send messages by trying different times of day to see when your audience is most likely to engage.

8. Comply with regulations

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have strict rules for mobile marketing.

To make sure you’re on the right track, follow these steps:

Get explicit consent: Always get clear permission from subscribers before sending them messages. Use SMS opt-ins or keywords to confirm their agreement.
Share key details with your subscribers: Include information about how often they’ll hear from you, mention that “carrier fees may apply,” and provide easy opt-out instructions (like replying “STOP” to unsubscribe) in your sign-up confirmation and welcome messages. You should also link to your privacy policy so they know how their data will be used.
Understand S.H.A.F.T. restrictions: Be aware of the S.H.A.F.T (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco) categories. While content in these areas might be restricted, you can sometimes send related messages through specific channels with proper safeguards, like age gates for alcohol and tobacco.
Provide an easy opt-out process: Make sure subscribers can easily unsubscribe from your messages. Honor opt-out requests promptly to comply with the rules.
Use age gates for restricted content: For content related to categories like alcohol or tobacco, set up an age gate on your website to verify subscribers’ age.

Boost your mobile marketing results with Klaviyo

Execute your brand’s marketing strategy with a powerful marketing automation platform like Klaviyo. Use Klaviyo to send highly engaging and personalized texts, track how well your campaigns are performing, and set up automated flows—all in one place.