Sunday, November 15, 2015

Mobile App Marketing

Benefits of Mobile App Marketing vs. Other Marketing Mediums

On average, people have 26 apps installed on their phones. What does this mean for you? You are competing with 26 other apps for attention. But don’t worry; that’s nothing! Think about how many websites you compete with online. Hint: It’s in the MILLIONS.

Social Media vs. Mobile Marketing

Social media is still a somewhat new medium (relatively speaking) and many small businesses are just starting to test their own Facebook and Twitter accounts. The competition here is steep, though, and it’s not just about your retail competitors. When users are on social media, they usually aren’t looking to make a purchase. They are there to catch up with friends, check on what’s happening in the world or post updates about what is happening in their lives. This puts your profiles in direct competition with numerous things that your audience may find more interesting (sorry).

Email Marketing vs. Mobile Marketing

Email marketing is an old standby that still works today for many businesses. But even if someone subscribes to your list, there’s no guarantee that they’ll see your email. And if they see your email, there’s no guarantee that they’ll read it. With mobile apps, you have something called a “push notification.” These are the updates that you get on your smartphone to let you know something new is going in within one of your apps. With Facebook, you may get a push notification to tell you that someone tagged you in a post or sent you a message. Your calendar may send a push notification to remind you of an event. Your app may send push notifications for any number of reasons that you will specify. But although push notifications occur for various reasons, there’s one thing they all have in common. The get read.

According to Silverpop’s Email Marketing Benchmark study, about 20 percent of emails are opened by the recipient and only about 5.4 percent of people click on a link within that email.

In contrast, push provider Xtify revealed that 30 to 60 percent of users open push notifications and about 40 percent interact with the app immediately following the notification.

Three Things You Stand to Gain from Developing a Mobile App

Time to answer the question, what’s in it for me? There are more than three potential benefits, but these should get you thinking about how to put the right app to work for you.

1. Earn money – Whether it’s with ads or in-app purchases, smart retailers monetize their apps to create another stream of income.

2. Reach a new set of customers – Let’s hope that a good number of your current customers download and use your app, but there’s also the potential to reach a whole new audience who are experiencing your brand for the first time.

3. Showcase products and services – Although your app will have a purpose, a benefit to the end user, it will also act much like a not-so-obvious ad for your business.

It’s Anyone’s Ballgame

Although you may be an early adopter among your peers of mobile marketing, it’s important that you know that there’s nothing holding your competitors back from getting started. All you really need is some creative thinking and smart planning and you can have an app of your own in almost no time flat.

And by using tools like the ones we’ve developed, you can create an app for a small fraction of the time and financial investment it would take to have one built from the ground up.

Isn’t it about time that someone stepped up and caused a little chaos in your industry? Disrupt the norm of Google Ads and walking sandwich boards. Create your very own mobile app and start engaging your audience today.

We’ve never met a business owner who has regretted their decision to build a mobile app, and you aren’t likely to be the first.

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