8 Essentials for a successful mobile campaign

According to Narrative, of the nearly 50 million unique browsers in South Africa in March 2019, over 70% were on mobile. With mobile penetration reaching saturation levels, as well as the emergence of wearables, the mobile device has increasingly become a cybernetic extension of its user. And while ethical arguments can be made against this, the fact is, this has empowered marketers with new abilities to glean insights into their target audiences.

The following 8 essentials are some of the key considerations to make when crafting a successful mobile campaign.

Understand your Audience

Quite often the distinguishing factor that differentiates successful mobile campaigns from the melee is the ability to connect with the audience. Apropos, every digital marketer should aim to identify the consumer habits of their target market and correlate the data to the ideal client profile. This smart profiling will inform the structure of the campaign, including what platforms will work best in it. Further insight can be gained by targeted research by way of surveys and competitions on such social platforms as Instagram and any other app the audience habitually uses.

Optimise for Mobile

For a seamless journey that does not jar the consumer out of your proposition, a brand’s landing page or app must be optimised for all desktop and mobile platforms, so that the user can navigate app easily. A perfect example of this is Vodacom’s Site Builder proposition which offers subsidised landing pages, with multiple levels of functionality, that do not require the consumer to have any data to interact. Optimising for mobile can also include leveraging the fact that consumers are always with their device, hence, with a little creative copywriting, can be urged into opting in and signing up to receive further engagement.

Craft a clear call to action (Back to basics)

A clear call to action drives the user to the next step in your online sales funnel in a way that feels natural and intuitive.
The sales funnel itself should be kept as short as possible without too many steps, as there is attrition with each click. Therefore, at every step, there should be a link directing your customer a final engagement, whether it is to your website, or a landing page which talks about your brand, a purchase environment, or signing up and subscription. 

Further insight can be gained by targeted research by way of surveys and competitions on such social
platforms as Instagram and any other app the audience habitually uses.

Treat SMS as king, it still is

Despite the emergence of display and video as a result of the ever-increasing processing power of mobile devices, the simple SMS is as ubiquitous and effective as ever. In a broad market like South Africa, where both feature and smart devices are aplenty, this can be evidenced by the sheer enormity of the volume of text impressions served – for example VodaMedia serves over 2 billion text ad impressions monthly. That is billions with a “b”.
SMS can be used to drive users to a brand’s online sales funnel to sign up and get special alerts, reminders or enable the customer to provide feedback. Links can be inserted, which can direct the customer to a particular landing page or to the brand’s website. How crafty a brand gets with this trusty old platform is up to their creativity – VodaMedia for example, has an SMS service that includes a video link that does not require the user to have data to watch. Now that is clever.

Leverage Social Media’s power

With most social media users accessing their chosen services through mobile It is crucial for a brand to maintain its social media profiles on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram updated and engaged. 
Mobile users are constantly plugged into social media websites to share photos, posts, chat with friends and other personal extensions. This enables brands to connect with the market on passion points in a personal fashion. By using social media, the brand gains a human touch and a stronger bond with customers.
A classic example of the power of social media is the meteoric rise to prominence of the South African recording artist, Sho Madjozi. This mercurial muso practically turned the entire music business model on its head by not signing to a record label but rather developing a fan base on social media and monetizing it. Her independent debut album went on to win two awards at the Vodacom sponsored SAMAs (South Africa’s equivalent of the Grammy award.)

Use pictures & video

The old maxim rings true; a picture does say a thousand words. Humans are visual creatures. We cannot help ourselves. When a campaign involves strong visual elements, we connect more easily and readily. This is evidenced by the amount of sponsored video and image content on social media platforms which has increased rapidly in recent years. From short videos to glossy ads, GIFs and memes, visual content has become increasingly successful in mobile marketing.

Measure

Mobile’s ability for measurement is a blessing to the astute marketer. A brand must foster feedback from it’s consumers and then treat that feedback as a precious treasure. By acting on customer feedback, you get to attract more traffic to your mobile marketing campaigns.

Reward Engagement

We all just love a treat. Rewarding customers for engagement builds both affinity and loyalty. Consumers will be more inclined to follow a link or share content if there is a reward involved. A brand providing incentive in the form of prizes, extra content, discounts, contests, gifts, movie tickets or free exposure will effectively drive-up ad clicks. 
A clever example of this is the usage of such tools as VodaMedia’ s Data Rewards. Not only does the consumer feel rewarded, but they are also more likely to spend that reward reengaging with the brand.
Another is SwitchOn Benefits, a rewards platform that offers deals, discounts, vouchers, and coupons in the mobile space.

These strategies will apply to both online as well as physical brands. Enhanced brand equity is the future, and mobile is the key to it.

To find out more about how you can also leverage of the VodaMedia advertising capabilities like the subsidised site build, SMS with Video and advertise in applications go to www.vodamedia.co.za