How marketers can seize the mobile moment
Will mobile content kill journalism?
Content marketers can deliver their mobile content in a variety of ways, such as in-app and native advertising on social networks and publisher sites. In fact, Forrester says mobile will collapse media's separation of editorial and advertising, whereby mobile content on an app or mobile website will be dynamically assembled from many sources. So it'll be up to the marketer — not a Fourth Estate editor — to ensure mobile content doesn't sound like a sales job that turns off mobile users.
So where do mobile sales come from?
Once marketers build a relationship with customers over their mobile devices, they can monetize the relationship. For instance, outdoors retailer REI has a loyal following of mobile users willing to share their location data. Last year, REI sent a mobile message to customers who were near a store in the last three months telling them that the local store was having a GoPro training class. REI achieved a response rate four times greater than non-targeted messages, Forrester says.
While REI found some success with mobile content marketing, it isn't easy. Mobile relationships aren't formed overnight. It takes repeatedly winning the mobile moment using new marketing tech, data, analytics and, of course, engaging mobile content. The special needs and short attention span of the mobile user makes marketing's mantra of hitting "the right person at the right time with the right message" a very difficult target.
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