Mobile is changing everything from the way consumers go about life to the way that businesses run. If you own a small, local business, you may think that mobile doesn’t matter for your company but nothing is further from the truth. The great thing about mobile is that it is beneficial for business of all sizes. So whether you run a small bookstore by yourself or you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, your business needs to be mobile. Let’s look at how local businesses specifically can benefit from a mobile marketing strategy.

What can mobile do for you?

Many small businesses are finding creative ways to use mobile as an incentive for customers. For instance, a business can offer a discount for people who use Facebook’s “check in” feature. When a person checks in on Facebook, their friends and family, many of whom live within a few miles, will see that that person is in your store. Another way your business can make use of mobile marketing is create a social presence. Offer a discount or some other deal for customers who “like” your company’s Facebook page. The more “likes” the more attention your business is going to attract.

Many local business owners have some reservations about launching a mobile marketing campaign, especially if they know little about mobile or if they are operate the business alone. If you fall into this category, here are some tips that can work for any local business owner.

One man team

If you’re all by yourself, the idea of launching a mobile marketing campaign can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Social media can be a great place to start. It’s free to start a Facebook page or Twitter account for your business. They require very little effort to set up and manage. Best of all, whatever you do on your computer will be translated to mobile devices. People who visit Facebook or other social media sites through their smartphones will automatically see a mobile version of it. Facebook allows you to narrow your target audience  so that if you want to create a Facebook ad, only people within a certain distance of your business will see the ad.

How to create mobile ads

The main thing to keep in mind when creating any type of mobile ad is that your audience is made up of people on the go. They’re attention span for your ad is going to be extremely short. Keep ads as simple and concise as possible. Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words so use pictures to convey something instead of words when possible.

Manage on the go

If you’re a business owner, then chances are you’re already busy enough as it is. If you’re always on the run like many other business owners, you’re not going to have a lot of time to manage your mobile marketing efforts.  Fortunately there are apps for your smartphone that will allow you to manage things on the go. Look for opportunities to automate things when possible.

Source:  Fox