How can local businesses compete with national behemoths? According to Constant Contact., 2015 could be the year when small businesses go mobile, as they push the pedal to the metal on mobile marketing and leverage an “uber-local approach” to better compete against national competitors.
“In a web-based world, businesses were battling to win the search war – a war that small businesses, with small budgets, would never win. In 2015, it’s about being found locally, and geo-targeting will make it possible for small businesses to win the local war,” the company says. “The merging of social and mobile channels is allowing small businesses to grow in new ways. Mobile technology continues to be creatively woven into social networking, such as photo geo-tagging on Instagram and Facebook’s “Nearby Friends” feature.”
Because more than 70 percent of social activity is now happening on mobile devices — and location is now part and parcel of the experience — it’s now practical for small businesses to garner attention of shoppers even as they walk by their stores.
“2015 will mark the year that mobile devices will become the marketing tool of choice for small businesses,” says Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. “They will seamlessly create and track their email and social media campaigns right on their mobile devices, while simultaneously reaping the benefits of mobile search. As they see the benefits of creating campaigns ‘on-the-go,’ the level of marketing that time-starved small business owners conduct on their mobile devices will soar.”
Small businesses and restaurants could use the mobile marketing technology in interesting and highly targeted ways.
“When an unexpected snowfall occurs, the local diner can use their smartphone to take a photo of their homemade beef stew and include it in an email inviting people to come in and enjoy a warm bite on a snowy day,” the company explains. “A local commercial real estate agent can tweet a picture of a just-listed property on Main Street.”
The ability to be nimble and develop authentic customer relationships opens a door to small businesses that want to achieve greater context with their mobile marketing.
