Go Mobile

In Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district you find several hundred bars within walking distance of the subway station. Yet only a few are visible from the main street; the vast majority are tucked away on the upper floors of back-street buildings. To differentiate, many cater to highly refined customer preferences. So if you want to listen to classic reggae while sipping a Red Stripe, there is a bar for you in Roppongi. But how do you find these establishments when you’re thirsty and confused in an unfamiliar city?

Your mobile of course!

Because buyers use their mobiles to search for products and services in the time of need (like I do when I'm in some faraway city), you've got an opportunity to reach them when they are ready to buy.

The elapsed time from firing up a mobile app like Foursquare or Google Mobile to a customer walking in the door is now measured in minutes (or even seconds).

Adding GPS (global positioning system) capability to mobiles has transformed a once mundane voice-only mobile phone into a targeted weapon focused on proximate surroundings. With onboard GPS capability, the mobile user gains awareness of nearby people, companies, and locations, even in unfamiliar territory like the bar district of Tokyo. Engaging people via mobile devices is a fast-growing and fascinating area that every modern marketer needs to be knowledgeable about.

That's why an understanding of mobile marketing is so important.

Fortunately, Go Mobile has the answers. The new book, part of my own New Rules of Social Media Book Series, is published today.

When I created the series with John Wiley & Sons, I said that it was essential to have a book about mobile marketing. Fortunately, Jeanne Hopkins, V.P. of Marketing at HubSpot and Jamie Turner, founder of the 60 Second Marketer agreed to write this book. Either one of them would have written a great book on mobile marketing, but having them collaborate is double the fun. I learned a great deal by reading this book and I’m confident that you will too.

Mobile marketing is for all organizations

The challenge is to understand this new landscape so you can get your business into the mix at that precise moment of decision.

It's not just consumer brands that need to pay attention to mobile marketing. There's also the often overlooked but essential requirement that you make your website mobile friendly which is essential to all. Many sites still don't have a mobile-friendly architecture, so those organizations miss out on opportunities to sell to the many people now accessing their sites from wireless devices.

Mobile offers the power to reach buyers at the exact time and place they're looking for what you offer. It is a revolutionary tool for building business and it's easy to learn.

Go Mobile provides a step-by-step roadmap for people interested in using mobile marketing to grow their sales and revenues. The book covers how to set-up a mobile website, how to run a QR code campaign, how to develop a mobile app and how to run a mobile banner ad campaign, and more.

USA QR-code Scavenger Hunt

To launch Go Mobile, Jamie & Jeanne have hidden 4 iPads with copies of Go Mobile in secret locations around the U.S. Clues will be available each day starting January 12, 2012. Scan the bar code to begin playing or go to the Go Mobile site to learn more.

Fun fact: There are 6.8 billion people on planet Earth. 4.0 billion of them own a mobile phone, but only 3.5 billion of them own a toothbrush.

Are you reaching this vast marketplace?

Disclosure: I am on the board of advisors of HubSpot.

Comments

[Cory Gaddis]

Great review David!

I certainly agree that an understanding of mobile marketing is extremely important, and that foregoing mobile-friendly architecture will result in more and more missed opportunities as the days go by.

"Go Mobile" is an excellent place to start if you're new to mobile marketing, but it's just as helpful to the expert as well. It's comprehensive, designed to help you get started quickly from scratch, and is filled with practical, timely information. That last bit is important - we all know that mobile progresses at a lightning pace.

It also happens to be quite funny and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended!

[David Meerman Scott]

Thanks Cory. It really is a good book and I am glad you liked it.

[AskJamieTurner]

Hi, Cory --

Thanks for your kind words about the book. We appreciate it.

A lot of people ask how to get STARTED in mobile marketing. There are three places to begin:

1) Create a mobile website (we go in-depth on this in the book)
2) Run a mobile campaign using a QR code, SMS or a banner ad. (These are covered in the book, too, and are actually quite easy to execute.)
3) Run a mobile paid search campaign

Those are three places to get started. After that, you can dive into the world of Apps and/or Augmented Reality. (Nothing against Apps or Augmented Reality, I just wouldn't start there.)

Good luck with your mobile campaigns. And thanks for your comment.

-- Jamie Turner
Co-author, Go Mobile

[Daniel Milstein]

That is true. As an author and business man, I can relate to how you said, "I said that it was essential to have a book about mobile marketing". I hope more people discover your blog because you really know what you're talking about. Can't wait to read more from you!

[Jade]

Thank you for this :-)

One of my knowledge gaps is mobile marketing, but I've found a lot of resources focused on SMS/MMS or QR codes. I was looking for a book to bring me up to date but I'm time poor and don't want to read a book with stuff I know.

This book has come at the right time. The fact that it's one of yours, and that you learnt stuff, makes it a winner. I'll definitely put it on the reading list! Thanks heaps

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Jade! Excellent. I agree with you. I had known the basics of mobile but "Go Mobile" filled in a lot of gaps for me. Hope you enjoy.

[Jamie Turner]

Hi, Jade --

Thanks for your comment about "Go Mobile." We intentionally wrote it for people like you. You'll find information about how to build a mobile website, how to run a mobile display (banner) ad campaign, how to create a mobile app easily, how to use mobile paid search, etc. Tons of good stuff (if I don't mind saying so).

It's a fun book and we're happy to be part of David's series.

All the best,
Jamie

[Daniel Milstein]

That is true,David. As an author and business man, I can relate to how you said, "The elapsed time from firing up a mobile app like Foursquare or Google Mobile to a customer walking in the door is now measured in minutes". I hope more people discover your blog because you really know what you're talking about. Can't wait to read more from you!

[Todd Chambers]

David I couldn't agree more. Jeanne and Jamie did a great job framing the opportunities and challenges of going mobile. The book reads well, is incisive and very actionable. And in today's fast paced, on-the-go marketplace, that's exactly what's needed. I picked up a few extra copies just to give to my clients. Great stuff.

[Millennialsmarketing.wordpress.com]

Great post, David.

I really agree with the importance of mobile programs for organizations, and I write about it a lot myself on my own blog. The fact of the matter is that consumers in our day and age have the luxury of not being prepared at all times for where we are going to go... we can just go somewhere and then use our phones to find the best venue. That's why it's so important for businesses to run specials on Foursquare, use QR codes, etc.

A business without a mobile program is not doing themselves any favors!

James Mignano
www.MillennialsMarketing.Wordpress.com

[Beindustrial]

I love your books and I love this article! I couldn't agree more with your ideas. Going mobile is in deed the best-est option nowadays.
By the way i also love your code-scavenger hunt... I'm excited for the next clues...

[Olofcharles]

Thanks for this article and it helped me reinforce the positive vibes that mobile technologies will help my business. I recently availed a web service that builds mobile websites http://www.brickandmobile.com I did this in the hopes of increasing my sales and using it as a marketing tool. It's been a couple of months now and honestly speaking, I am seeing positive results in terms of my sales and potential sales since I setup my mobile website. I'll definitely keep the mobile web service that I signed up for.