Almost everyone has a mobile phone. By 2013, or soon thereafter, more users will be accessing the internet via their mobile phones than regular desktop internet users. This is very exciting for business owners, from large corporations to one-man bands. Mobile apps such as FourSquare offer potentially great forms of exposure as they include many business listings from Google places. This means your business has an even greater opportunity to capitalize on this new wave of marketing.
By offering discounts, deals, and special offers to your customers can help promote your business through the use of these apps. Folks will login, leave comments, find out more about your business and can then easily share this information to their friends and family. This is known as viral marketing, sharing information about your business through the use of social media using their mobile devices.
Additionally, depending on the app company, a business can work out a special offer to customers directly via the app on their phone. For example, people who download a location based app to their phone will share information about them to the app company. So, if there are people near your business that use a particular app, you may be able to work out a deal where the app creators to send out specific offers to those in your area. This can be a highly effective form of mobile marketing because you’re targeting those who can physically come in to take advantage of your discount, offer, etc.
As a small business owner, there are many new and upcoming forms of mobile advertising that are not only cost effective but relatively inexpensive to help you communicate with new and loyal customers. Search around for specific location based apps that can help you get your message out there and take advantage of the incredible technological world in which we live in.
