I've said it before and will continue to pound the table on the state of Mobile Marketing right now -- It's crazy-hot. Needless to say as a business owner, it's absolutely the right time to embrace various mobile platforms and develop a plan for marketing your business in the midst of this new paradigm. Truth be told, you'll have everything to gain and nothing to lose by becoming an early adapter. So with that, let's forge ahead with my Top 5 'Must-Use' Mobile Marketing Methods, which by the way, can be implemented quickly, with relative ease, and for next to nothing cost-wise.

Mobile Marketing Method #1: Mobile-Enable Your Website

First you'll want to do a web search for "mobile emulator" and look for mtld.mobi. What you will accomplish here will be to reveal how your site appears to millions of mobile users. this handy mobile marketing tool emulates mobile phone web browsers. It's cool because you can look at your website as if viewing it on different mobile handsets.

Some points to consider: Your site may display as a mini version of your full site. Or, you may not be able to view it at all. If the latter, not good. Hence you'll need to mobile-enable it; sooner the better. In the event you can view your site on a mobile, you're on the right track, but please be advised of new developments that are beginning to come to the fore. I use both paid-for and free services to mobile-enable my web properties, Of course, the free ones aren't quite as feature-rich. However, they get you going in the right direction. For example, Blogger now has a mobile-enable feature. There are free WordPress plugins that a worth experimenting with and also, Bing Business Portal are doing some pretty cool mobile stuff that melds nicely with their Facebook partnership. The best part, these won't cost you a penny.

Another and perhaps more important element to mobile-enabling your site is MSEO. That's 'Mobile Search Engine Optimization' and it's something that will be attracting massive amounts of buzz in the coming months. So this is the perfect segue to method number two...

Mobile Marketing Method #2: Mobile SEO

If I were to write a Business Owner's Bible, I think mastering Mobile SEO would be the holy grail for Mobile Marketing. Suffice to say that the ability to Optimize your website for the mobile search engines is tantamount to building a solid mobile marketing foundation. Obviously, Being found on mobile devices is first and foremost. After all, showing up is half the battle.

Next, it would be wise to build a mobile sitemap. Simply go to your Google Webmaster Tools Account, set that up and submit accordingly. Using this action step you will probably be 90% smarter than your competition who might be oblivious to such do-it-yourself tactics. One thing's for sure, Mobile Marketing won't wait for laggards. As is true in most businesses, gaining a competitive advantage is all about timing and positioning.

Speaking of positioning, as it holds true with regular ol' SEO, backlinks rule. Mobile Directories come in handy here. Go grab some links from other mobile sites and watch for improvements in your search results.

Mobile Marketing Method #3: Employ the Hcard Micro-format

Okay, don't worry, it's not brain surgery, it's just your own "crawler-friendly" business info displayed in a format that MSEOs will "appreciate" when queried for local business data. Just like SEO you want these engines to locate your business quickly, thus enabling prospective customers to find you in a snap on their mobile devices. Here's a tip: Search "Hcard Creator" to build your code, then and place it on your site where you display your contact information.

Mobile Marketing Method #4: Join Foursquare (For Business)

Now moving on to the fun part. First, sign up for Foursquare's free Merchant Platform and by all means, claim your venue. Understand that Foursquare is part of the fastest growing segment of social networking right now, so if you've shied away from Foursquare (or you live under a rock), it's time to get your game on because quite literally, that's what it is -- a game. Only in this social networking game, folks will use your business as a "check-in" point not virtually, but in the real world using Foursquare's app to compete for perks such as mobile coupons and such. Foursquare's merchant tools are great and your customers will just eat this up on their way to becoming the "Mayor" of whatever. Trust me, it's a fun way to find new
customers and keep the old ones coming back for more.

Mobile Marketing Method #5: Start A Facebook Business Page

Don't tell me you don't have one. Okay, we'll just assume you do and go from there. By the way, you should know one thing about Facebook. It's the only company on Earth that Google fears. Facebook is where your customers, and most Internet users for that matter are spending their time. On average these folks are on Facebook about 55 minutes per day. So if you were wondering where the eyes are on the web, now you know. You already know most people using Facebook are practically addicted to it; constantly checking their Facebook on their mobile devices. So there you go. Start communicating with your customers on your Facebook business page. Simply keep your page up-to-date and your people apprised as to what's happening with your business.

Very important: Offer an enticing "Facebook Deal"... The good news is that Facebook will actually assist in promoting within your local area.

Mobile Marketing BONUS Method: Build A Text Message (SMS) Marketing list As Fast As You Can

Okay, listen to me, hehe, I'm pounding the table on this one again. I mention this BONUS method simply because it's the fastest, cheapest, most efficient way to get new customers ever conceived in the history of marketing, bar none! I can't be anymore emphatic in expressing my opinion about this -- SMS is the future of contact management. I'm assuming you know the value of a good email list, right? Well, I'm not saying that you should abandon your current email marketing program, but know this: Open rates for business emails are anemic, 20% in a best case scenario compared to an astounding 95% open rates for Text. I've read up to 97% in some publications, but looking at the numbers, this is a no-brainer for any local business seeking to add more customers, get more sales, make more money, etc, etc, etc. That's because SMS (Short Message Service) Text Marketing is by far, the best return on investment opportunity in your marketing budget.

So my final word on this is to say, do not underestimate the power of your own "text keyword" and "shortcode" as these can and should be your next revenue-generating project. Keep in mind, your
customers will be opting into your SMS list and they WILL be looking forward to your offers, coupons and updates via text. I predict that at the end of the day, your response ratios will blow you away.

Chuck Anthony is a home-based entrepreneur and internet marketer dedicated to helping like-minded individuals and small businesses in their quest toward gaining a competitive advantage in their niche. For more timely advice visit the Better Affiliate Network site.

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