To me mobile is a bit like quantum physics; we are learning more about it every day, it has and will change the way we see the world, and the possibilities it presents are truly endless. With that said, anyone who professes to know all there is to know about the mobile web is likely not someone you want to listen to. While we can do our best to predict where the market is going, with such amazing potential it is impossible to grasp the full reach of what mobile can do. What we can do, however, is constantly be on the lookout for new and inventive ways to integrate mobile into our business models.
Personal Pages
At FiddleFly, our team is a small collection of creative minds, however many of our clients are franchise businesses or small firms with multiple agents. One thing we always suggest to these clients is to build personal mobile pages for each individual agent. These personal pages can be easily created and can function as mobile business cards that offer potential and existing clients not only contact information, but actual interactive content such as live updates, maps and driving directions, or even personal or company bios. Rather than a client having to dig through a wallet or purse to find the card they need, they can simply access all the information they need from the device that most people have with them almost 24/7.
User-Driven Content
One of the great things about mobile is that it encourages engagement from users. This gives business owners and marketers the ability to create content that allows users to dictate what they want from the mobile experience. While users are browsing your mobile site, you may want to give them the opportunity to sign up for newsletters, access special offers, or even simply share your content with other users. By forcing potential or existing customers to engage at the level you dictate, you create a transaction rather than a relationship which will only work to turn many users away.
Microsites and Landing Pages
This is a topic we have touched on before, but there is no end to what building parallel mobile experience can do for your marketing efforts. Using mobile landing pages to compliment your existing marketing materials extends the interaction customers can have with your product and creates all new levels of trust and comfort with your company.
Extended Interaction With Real-Time Events
Mobile puts a device capable of incredible things right into a users pocket at all times. One really powerful way to capitalize on this is to use mobile as a compliment to live-action events. This could be something like streaming updates and news during a sporting event, allowing an audience to follow along with extra information during a presentation, or providing more depth of information about individual items at an exhibit or trade show. This is not just a great benefit to users that want more content, it is yet another way to create a deeper level of engagement.
Guerilla Marketing
When we built FiddleFly, one thing we wanted to do was help marketers and advertisers finally understand the right way to use a truly misunderstood technology; QR codes. Every time I scan a QR code and it drives me to a page that is not mobile-optimized, I want to drive to that company and walk around the office all day speaking into a bullhorn. QR codes should drive users to mobile landing pages that are designed specifically for mobile needs, and one of the most exciting an effective ways to capitalize on these sites after they are built is to integrate QR codes or mobile URLs right into the natural environment.
Companies that get creative with mobile in guerilla marketing are seeing huge returns. Guinness, for example, recently integrated a QR code into a special pint glass that was only readable after the glass was filled. This form of marketing instantly creates a curiosity and in the world of marketing, curiosity is an incredibly powerful asset.
Of course, as I mentioned, no one can truly know everything there is to know about mobile. Use these techniques to your benefit, but make sure to always have the wheels turning trying to find innovative and effective new ways to put mobile to use for your business.
Photo Credits
Flickr.com / Flickr.com / Flickr.com / Flickr.com / CalHoun.MyW2M.com
