Take advantage of email marketing within your mobile device

Jeff Rhoton – imobilize media, llc

For the past 10-15 years, the Internet has been about the email to desktop delivery. Several major research firms expect mobile devices will be the number #1 starting point to the Internet in the next 5 years. Each month more and more consumers are buying mobile devices from smartphones to mobile tablets, demand is high.

A study by Merkle shows that reading your personal email is the top activity among Internet-enabled mobile devices. With my phone on me 90% of the time, I find myself waiting for that next email or text message, it is called instant gratification.

Most email is not formatted for mobile devices. There lies the problem and the opportunity at the same time.

Create a text-to-opt-in starting point
Target your audience with a call-to-action message. SMS marketing is a must for getting a consumer to opt-in to your email marketing database. Get a customer to sign up for your email program by texting their email address. The benefit of this is not all mobiles have Internet access but can receive text messages through their cellphone carrier plans.

Get customers to signup for your email marketing program by offering mobile SMS message specials, reward them for joining your email program.

Reverse the process
When blasting out an email campaign or targeted message, add a mobile SMS hook. At the top or bottom of your email message, add a mobile SMS “KEYWORD” and short code to help drive opt-ins for your mobile database. Most major brands today are utilizing both email and mobile as a way to hit their customer twice in a short amount of time while being cost-effective and targeted.

What do email companies have to offer that brands and agencies can’t get from other mobile-only service providers?
I think consumers would be wise to work with both companies as they will help round out the picture. Mobile-only agencies will miss the bigger picture of how email is an extension of mobile and perhaps the connection of email to social.
However a pure email company may not have the resources to really enable a truly robust app in mobile so marketers need both email experts and agency mobile expertise to create a balanced and email offer across the entire spectrum of mobile, social and email channels. Source: Peter Finocchiaro, Mobilemarketer.com and Manny Ju is director of product management for Digital River’s BlueHornet Networks.