Top 5 Ways to Mobilize Your Marketing

Does your business have a mobile marketing strategy in place?  If not, it’s time to hop to it!  Small businesses that want to keep up with today’s world can no longer afford to ignore mobile marketing.  Mobile devices have changed the way people access their information.  In 2010 over 50 percent of all Internet activity was done via a mobile device.  Here are 5 ways your business can start connecting with mobile consumers.

1. Mobile Websites

There are many opportunities in the mobile market, but a great place to begin is your business’ website.  The key to creating a great mobile site is to keep it simple but engaging.  The site’s usability is critical to its success.  The best mobile sites combine simplified design, layout and navigation without sacrificing their creativity. 

2. QR Codes 

While Quick Response (QR) codes have taken off in Japan, people in the United States are just now starting to recognize their marketing potential.  Help direct your consumers to online resources by placing QR codes on all your business cards and marketing materials.  You can direct your audience to your website, get them to follow you on Twitter, like you on Facebook or point them to a mobile-friendly landing page for your most recent marketing campaign.  However, if you really want people to pay attention to your QR codes, try rewarding them with special discounts, freebies or something fun.

3. Apps

The rise of mobile usage has spurred the growth of new mobile applications.  Apps can serve many different purposes.  Some offer informative tips or educational bits, while others deliver pure entertainment or gaming fun.  Apps are way to boost brand equity and get your audience to actively engage with your business.  When creating an app for your business, focus on delivering what something your audience will find both useful and valuable.  

4. Location-Based Services

Foursquare and Gowalla are two location-based services that have gained a following among consumers open to sharing their locations with the world.  Small business can take advantage of these services by rewarding the loyal customers as well at those in their area.  Businesses can leverage location-based deals by incentivizing checkins, adopting barcode scanning technology, and offering group buying initiatives.

5. Mobile Coupons

There is no denying it, everyone loves a good deal.  Mobile coupons are a popular trend gaining a following beyond the stereotypical coupon-cutting crowd.  Many customers love getting money-saving offers from their favorite companies delivered straight to the phones via text message.  Coupons are a great way to drive extra sales during times when business is slow.

When implementing a mobile marketing strategy there are a few things to keep in mind: 

• Make sure that the content you are putting out there is useful or else it dismissed as meaningless clutter.
• Capitalize on social media by creating two-way conversations between your company and its audience wherever possible, this will build brand value.  
• Use the available mobile data (location, activity and time) your company collects to get a better understanding of consumer behavior and apply it to your strategy.

Now get moving on your mobile strategy, before your customers move on without you! 

Written by Laura Goede
@LauraGThinkBig

How Rush Hour Can Increase Traffic...to Your Site

Admobile’s Technique of Catching You by Surprise at Green, Yellow and Red Lights

We’ve all been there: stuck at that same annoying traffic light that always seems to flash red just before you approach it.  So you wait, look down at your watch, change the radio station, and sigh.  Why do you always hit this red light?  And why does it always take so long to turn green?

But have you ever noticed what you look at when you’re stopped at these red lights?  Do you look at the joggers passing by?  The trees swaying in the distance?  The person idling next to you who (always) ends up looking at you the exact same time that you look at them?

Today, there’s something a bit more exciting to look at when you’re stopped at these red lights:  Admobile trucks.

AdmobileKC, Kansas City’s premier mobile advertising company, operates a growing fleet of dedicated mobile advertising trucks city-wide, delivering powerful exposure for any company’s message.  With clients such as Worlds of Fun, Fox 4 News, Midwest Airlines and Dunkin’ Donuts, Admobile has become the advertising avenue of the new age.



Admobile trucks are seen by over 50,000 people each day!

“What else are you going to do when you’re sitting at a stoplight?” asks Branden Connolly, Vice President of Sales and Operations for AdmobileKC.  “You can’t help but take a look at these moving billboards!”

Apart from running his own Kansas City-based event and sponsorship company, Evenergy, Connolly has been making sales for Admobile for two years, and believes it to be one of the best ways that a company can market themselves.

“The trucks are clean, we drive in high-traffic areas, and the look of the truck stands out next to any other vehicle out on the road,” he says.

Connolly points out that most commuters drive to and from the suburbs, where there is a lack of outdoor advertising (i.e. billboards).  “We’re not trying to replace billboards, we are trying to support advertising,” Connolly says.  “We only use 10-20% of a client’s outdoor budget, so it supports a comprehensive advertising plan.”

The Admobile truck’s twelve revolving ads can be seen in many different Kansas City locations where high-traffic is to be expected.  Keep your eye out for the AdmobileKC truck, especially at hotspots like Corporate Woods, First Fridays locations, Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums, and the KC suburbs.

But it’s not just your local Kansas City businesses that are advertising with Admobile.  Recently, Admobile has been catering to internet-based companies that may be interested in “driving” more traffic to their sites.  This concept has made Admobile the perfect avenue for internet startup advertising.

One thing is for sure, Admobile is no ordinary advertising strategy.  And the fact that Admobile is unique is what drives companies to its services.

“It’s important for new companies and entrepreneurs to Think Big like Admobile,” says Connolly.  “As long as you can deliver and Think Big, you can really push the envelope.”

So the next time you’re on your way home from work, cruising downtown Kansas City, or tailgating with friends at a Chiefs game, pay close attention to your mobile surroundings: you never know when the AdmobileKC truck will grab your attention!

Allison Way is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City’s mentorship-based business incubator and startup accelerator.  To read more of Allison’s work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, Newsvine, BrooWaha and eZine.