In the yore, traditional marketing was almost the only channel through which companies advertised their products or services. For many reasons, only the big organisations had access to this medium of showcasing their offerings. The small and medium scale enterprises couldn’t venture into television, radio or national newspapers because they didn’t have the wherewithal to do it. Today, the situation is a bit different, as the advent of the internet and mobile technologies have made things far easier. Even the big corporations have realised the accelerating importance of mobile communications technology and its pertinence in sending out brand messages to its potential targets. Mobile marketing has taken over from traditional marketing as the main aqueduct of product representation.
Mobile marketing has been generally defined as marketing on or with a mobile device such as smart phones or tablets. I must add that besides these two main mobile devices, other devices such as games machines and the new smart watches like Apple, Sony, or Samsung smart watches are included in mobile marketing. What makes mobile marketing dynamic is that day by day, new and more innovative mobile devices are being developed and brought into the marketplace. There is therefore, an increasing platform where mobile marketing can be developed and operated. These platforms with their diverse technologies give mobile marketing an edge over television commercials.
What other advantages does mobile marketing have over television commercials?
1. It is cheap: The cost of promoting a product or service on a local television station is so expensive that small or medium scale organisations cannot afford it, let alone going on a national TV. Only big corporations venture into national television because they have huge advertising budgets due to their big profit margins. But in mobile marketing, even the smallest organisations can afford it because it is ridiculously cheap. For instance, some Facebook adverts can go for as low as $2; meanwhile, no TV commercial can be near that cheap.
2. It has a bigger audience: The number of people who use mobile devices outweighs that of television users; the frequency of usage is also higher. In a home of four people for instance, there may just be one television device but four mobile phones; one per person. You can bet that these four people daily engage their phones more than they do with the television. This leaves you with four potential marketing targets with your brand message. Apart from that, these days, more people access their social media pages on mobile devices. So, billions of people who use the social media are easy reach for mobile marketing.
3. Instant feedback: With mobile marketing, you get an instant feedback from customers or potential customers. You can also respond immediately to feedbacks or comments made about your offering in real time situation. For instance, if you place an advert on the social media, you can monitor the ad and respond instantaneously to any request, complaint, or comment, but on television commercial, you can’t do that because viewers don’t have the privilege to immediately comment on your brand or its message.
4. You can monitor performance: In mobile marketing, you can monitor the performance of your ad through social media analytics, search engine analytics, or other forms of applications connected to the type of mobile marketing you are using. These analytics tell you how many people viewed your advert, the number that clicked the commercial, how long they engaged with the ad, etc. But in TV commercials, you do not have that opportunity. Having the opportunity to monitor your ad performance helps you to strategize; you’ll be able to tell if the advert is working or not. If it is, you’ll be able to know which bit of the ad is performing best so that you can increase your focus in that area. And if it isn’t working, you’ll research on how to make it work. All these happen because mobile marketing presents you with the statistics, unlike television advertising.
5. It is flexible: On television advertising, only video content can be used, but on mobile marketing, all types of content can be posted. On mobile devices, you can post videos, audios, infographic, gifographics, product reviews, eBooks, cartoons, etc. All of these types of content can be adapted as marketing materials.
6. It has a multi-device platform: Television adverts only come on one device, but mobile marketing comes on different devices, as earlier stated in this article. As people get more digital in behaviour, technological experts are seeing the need to make gadgets and devices smaller, and more internet-friendly. This drive increases the platform for mobile marketing.
7. You don’t need to be an expert: To produce a good television commercial, you need a good producer to shoot and edit the commercial, but in mobile marketing, you don’t need to. These days, most internet video hits are recorded on mobile phones. Again, if you don’t want to use a video content, you can easily generate another type of content using free online templates. Most social media websites have ready made templates that you can use to promote your brand.
There are more reasons for preferring mobile marketing to television advertising especially for small and medium scale organisations. So, don’t wait for the millions or even thousands of dollars before sending your brand message to potential customers or clients. Take advantage of the new age marketing, and see how your business will soar!
Mobile marketing has been generally defined as marketing on or with a mobile device such as smart phones or tablets. I must add that besides these two main mobile devices, other devices such as games machines and the new smart watches like Apple, Sony, or Samsung smart watches are included in mobile marketing. What makes mobile marketing dynamic is that day by day, new and more innovative mobile devices are being developed and brought into the marketplace. There is therefore, an increasing platform where mobile marketing can be developed and operated. These platforms with their diverse technologies give mobile marketing an edge over television commercials.
What other advantages does mobile marketing have over television commercials?
1. It is cheap: The cost of promoting a product or service on a local television station is so expensive that small or medium scale organisations cannot afford it, let alone going on a national TV. Only big corporations venture into national television because they have huge advertising budgets due to their big profit margins. But in mobile marketing, even the smallest organisations can afford it because it is ridiculously cheap. For instance, some Facebook adverts can go for as low as $2; meanwhile, no TV commercial can be near that cheap.
2. It has a bigger audience: The number of people who use mobile devices outweighs that of television users; the frequency of usage is also higher. In a home of four people for instance, there may just be one television device but four mobile phones; one per person. You can bet that these four people daily engage their phones more than they do with the television. This leaves you with four potential marketing targets with your brand message. Apart from that, these days, more people access their social media pages on mobile devices. So, billions of people who use the social media are easy reach for mobile marketing.
3. Instant feedback: With mobile marketing, you get an instant feedback from customers or potential customers. You can also respond immediately to feedbacks or comments made about your offering in real time situation. For instance, if you place an advert on the social media, you can monitor the ad and respond instantaneously to any request, complaint, or comment, but on television commercial, you can’t do that because viewers don’t have the privilege to immediately comment on your brand or its message.
4. You can monitor performance: In mobile marketing, you can monitor the performance of your ad through social media analytics, search engine analytics, or other forms of applications connected to the type of mobile marketing you are using. These analytics tell you how many people viewed your advert, the number that clicked the commercial, how long they engaged with the ad, etc. But in TV commercials, you do not have that opportunity. Having the opportunity to monitor your ad performance helps you to strategize; you’ll be able to tell if the advert is working or not. If it is, you’ll be able to know which bit of the ad is performing best so that you can increase your focus in that area. And if it isn’t working, you’ll research on how to make it work. All these happen because mobile marketing presents you with the statistics, unlike television advertising.
5. It is flexible: On television advertising, only video content can be used, but on mobile marketing, all types of content can be posted. On mobile devices, you can post videos, audios, infographic, gifographics, product reviews, eBooks, cartoons, etc. All of these types of content can be adapted as marketing materials.
6. It has a multi-device platform: Television adverts only come on one device, but mobile marketing comes on different devices, as earlier stated in this article. As people get more digital in behaviour, technological experts are seeing the need to make gadgets and devices smaller, and more internet-friendly. This drive increases the platform for mobile marketing.
7. You don’t need to be an expert: To produce a good television commercial, you need a good producer to shoot and edit the commercial, but in mobile marketing, you don’t need to. These days, most internet video hits are recorded on mobile phones. Again, if you don’t want to use a video content, you can easily generate another type of content using free online templates. Most social media websites have ready made templates that you can use to promote your brand.
There are more reasons for preferring mobile marketing to television advertising especially for small and medium scale organisations. So, don’t wait for the millions or even thousands of dollars before sending your brand message to potential customers or clients. Take advantage of the new age marketing, and see how your business will soar!
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