How to Succeed at Mobile Marketing
Nevertheless, marketers will need to be careful in how they approach consumers on messaging platforms, especially because of the personal nature of these apps’ one-to-one interactions. “Shifting messaging behavior from something we do with friends and acquaintances to brands will stall if brands are not helpful and personable,” Ekholm says. “While the trend is termed ‘conversational commerce,’ the weight of emphasis should be on ‘conversation’ and supporting customers with questions or problems they might have.”
Anderson agrees, saying that we’re entering an era where “consumers will pick the right channel for the right conversations.” When that happens, “it will be up to the company to be in that channel and connect the dots [from different channels] on who the customer is,” she explains.
Ekholm says that while marketers might be excited about the opportunities messaging platforms present, consumers could be skeptical about interacting with companies there. Marketers, she continues, should view messaging apps as “a new, innovative channel” that warrants a watchful eye and a few small-scale trials.
A NOTE ON SNAPCHAT
One of the more unique messaging apps is Snapchat, which has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. The multimedia platform enables users to send each other disappearing photo and video content called snaps—a model that contrasts with those of social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, where posts are more permanent and can be difficult to delete. As of September, Snapchat counted more than 60 million daily active users in the United States and Canada.
Needless to say, businesses have taken notice of the app’s popularity. Companies like Coca-Cola, Gatorade, and Vans have all partnered with Snapchat on advertising campaigns, and many more are starting to line up.
“Brands of all sorts are on Snapchat, from retail brands like Target to news outlets like The Huffington Post,” York says. “They all have something in common: They tell great stories. Snapchat is foremost a visual channel with text capabilities. Through personalized photos and video clips, you have the opportunity to create your own personality as a brand and use it to fully capture someone’s attention.”
Companies have three advertising options on Snapchat, according to Ekholm. The first of these are Snap Ads, which are full-screen vertical videos of up to 10 seconds in length. Users can swipe upward for more content, such as longer videos, app installs, or articles. The second is Sponsored Lenses, an augmented reality feature that enables users to alter their images with branded content. Last May, Taco Bell, for example, ran a campaign that enabled users to turn their heads into living tacos. A Gatorade campaign that coincided with last year’s Super Bowl allowed users to pour a virtual cooler of Gatorade over their heads. The third option is Sponsored Geofilters, which are artistic overlays—often location-specific—that users can add to their snaps.
However, given the personal nature of communications on the platform, marketers need to be especially careful when engaging with its users.
“Marketers should be studying the channel and figuring out what feels natural on that channel. Don’t take your existing marketing campaigns and just transfer them over to Snapchat. Make sure that you understand how people use Snapchat and what they like about it, what draws them into it, and make sure that the content that you create for the channel reflects all of that,” Anderson says.
But in the end, whether it’s Snapchat or any of the dozens of other mobile platforms available today, complacency cannot be tolerated.
Just as marketers tried to duplicate their approaches when each new channel—starting with Facebook, then YouTube, then LinkedIn, and then Twitter—emerged, many marketers today “are trying to rinse and repeat their existing strategy, and I would advise that you learn the platform, learn what works well on it, and craft your strategies around that,” Anderson says.
Assistant Editor Sam Del Rowe can be reached at sdelrowe@infotoday.com.