With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of the best uses of B2B mobile marketing so that you can apply some of the ideas to your business. But before we get started, let’s recap a few mobile marketing statistics so that you can better understand why B2B mobile marketing is becoming so critical in today’s world.
Check out these statistics compiled by BarnRaisers.com:
- 96% of marketers currently use or are planning to incorporate mobile into their mix
- 85% report an intent to raise their mobile budgets in the near future
- 84% use mobile websites; 78% mobile search; 76% mobile apps and 75% mobile display ads
- 42% are concerned about having proper mobile metrics in place
- 42% report an ability to prove ROI
- Only 21% state they have been successful in mobile – a decrease from 2010
Now you’re convinced, right? If you’re still unsure of how exactly to go about implementing a B2B mobile marketing strategy, here are 15 ideas to get you started:
Create A Mobile Website
This is the foundation for all mobile marketing, so if you don’t have a mobile website yet, we’d encourage you to create one. Surprisingly, it’s not all that complex. You can either work with a firm like Mobilize Worldwide or BlueTrain Mobile, both of whom specialize in creating mobile websites. Or, if you’re do-it-yourselfer, you can read How to Create a Mobile Website on the 60 Second Marketer blog.
Find Out How Your B2B Mobile Website Stacks Up
Marketing Grader is HubSpot’s upgrade to their Website Grader tool. Included in the tool is mobile grader that can give you insights to how well your mobile website is performing. Another useful tool is MobileGrader from our friends at BlueTrain Mobile. Both tools are worth checking out.
Generate A QR Code
QR codes won’t be around forever, but they can still be used to engage B2B audiences. Ready to create one? Use a simple QR Code Generator to create a code that you can tie into a promotion, a landing page, a limited-time download or some other digital perk.
Drop A QR Code into Your Next PowerPoint Presentation
When I do keynote speeches at trade shows and corporations around the globe, I drop QR code into the presentation. The first person to scan the code gets an autographed copy of Go Mobile. It’s a great way to engage an audience via mobile marketing.
Add A QR Code to Your Business Card
Again, QR codes won’t be around forever, but if you add them to your business cards, they can help you stand out from your competitors. You might even consider designing a special landing page with your contact information and other pertinent resources. Just be sure you test the final destination to ensure that it’s optimized for a mobile experience, otherwise the QR code won’t be nearly as effective.
Link Mobile Banner Ads to Email Campaigns
You can run a mobile banner ad that, when clicked, creates an email instead of loading a web page. So, for example, when a person clicks on a banner ad from their smartphone, an email pops up on their screen that they can forward to friends. In a B2C marketing plan, the email might have a discount at a local restaurant or bar. For B2B companies, you could offer a limited-time download of a particularly compelling whitepaper, or discounted registration to an upcoming industry event. For more information on this technique, check out some of the case studies on the MobClix website.
Create A Mobile Banner Ad That Only Targets Certain Demographics
Did you know that you can create a mobile banner ad campaign that only targets people in airports? Or only people who have visited ESPN.com (or some other website) in the past 2 weeks? Or only people who use the Android, iOS or Microsoft operating system? Yup. It’s crazy easy to do, too. Just ask your ad agency or mobile ad network to show you how.
Run A Mobile Banner Ad That Adds An Event To The Visitor’s Calendar
This is another fun trick that the folks at MobClix created and it works like this: someone visiting a mobile website sees a mobile banner ad on their smartphone. The banner ad is for your company and it says, “Mark Your Calendar For Our Upcoming Seminar!” When the user clicks on your banner ad, the event is automatically added to their calendar. Pretty cool, eh?
Create A Customized App For Your Event Or Trade Show
AppMakr helped The Inc. 500 Conference create an app that enabled attendees to navigate the conference with ease. It was a great way for the event to stay connected with their audience. If you’re considering creating your own event app, you might include a schedule, a map of the conference center and suggestions for nearby points of interest so that attendees have all of the resources they need in their hands.
Launch An SMS Campaign
Only 6% to 15% of all mobile phone users in the U.S. have QR code readers on their phones, but virtually 100% of them can read texts. Launching an SMS campaign is crazy easy — but you’ll have to go through an SMS service provider like SumoText to get it going. And another tip? Create a plan before you start blasting texts to your audience. This form of messaging, while effective, can quickly become spammy, so you want to be sure that each message as a clear and concise purpose and call to action.
Use SMS To Stay In Touch With Customers
Airlines, accountants and real estate agents are using SMS to remind customers about their flights, appointments and meetings. It’s a great way to stay connected and keep people happy, and something you might consider depending on what business you’re in.
Grab A Star Star Code
Remember all those people who got in early on the 1-800 craze? They grabbed numbers like 1-800-INSURANCE and sold them back to insurance companies at a premium. The same might be happening with Star Star codes, which allow people to dial **INSURANCE (or something else) to connect with brands. I’m not necessarily advocating that you snatch up a bunch of industry-related Star Star codes just to make a tidy profit, but you might consider purchasing one that connects directly to your industry or company and incorporating it into your marketing materials so that people have an easy way to remember your contact information.
Integrate Your Social Media Campaigns With Mobile
Social networking is becoming an increasingly large part of the mobile online experience, so don’t overlook these channels as you plan your own B2B mobile marketing strategy. Are you serving up content on your social networks that’s optimized for your mobile users? And does some of that content help drive users back to your mobile-optimized website? Don’t hesitate to grab your own smartphone and surf around your website and your various social networks to get a firsthand look at how other mobile users view your digital presence (and adjust as needed).
Run A Mobile Paid Search Campaign
Mobile paid search is a hidden goldmine. It’s hard to make a killing with desktop search these days, thanks to the high cost of keywords. Yet the cost for mobile search remains low (for now), which means you’ll likely get great ROI on your investment.
Update Your Online Listings
As more people use their smartphones to search the Internet for information, it’s more important than ever for your business to be as visible as possible. One quick way to do this? Make sure you’ve updated your online listings with the correct location, contact information and other pertinent details. A B2B company likely won’t include the same information as a B2C company, but you still have prospective clients that might want to find you, right? Make it as easy as possible for them to get the information they need when they need it.
What other B2B mobile marketing ideas have you tried?
Jamie Turner is the Founder of 60 Second Communications and co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile.” He is also popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.
Image: William Hook via Compfight cc