Use Social Media to Target Mobile Customers

When you go outside your home, the most common site you’ll likely see is people engaged on their smartphones. Whether they’re texting, posting a tweet, or mapping their next driving location, being consumed on the mobile phone is more common than not. In fact, users spend more time accessing social media from mobile devices than desktop computers, with 86% of mobile Twitter users and 68% on Facebook. Given this, if you’re not actively engaging with your customers through mobile social media strategies, you’re missing out on opportunities. Here are four ways you can use social media to target mobile customers.

1. Take Advantage of Facebook Tabs

These are the sub-pages that are part of your company’s Facebook page, which are visible just below the image at the top of the page. You may know them as “About,” “Photos” and “More Info.” Each of these tabs can be customized with specific calls to action targeting mobile users. They can also be used as your Facebook landing page. So instead of the “Timeline” being the default tab users see, they first go to a page designed specifically to welcome new customers, maybe with an offer they can redeem in your store. Many businesses fail to use these tabs as marketing tactics to reach the mobile customer.

2. Use Twitter Advertising Tools

More than 80 percent of Twitter’s active users are using the social network on their mobile device. In order to leverage this figure, the site recently launched its new advertising option that allows mobile carriers to create a loyalty campaign on Twitter that targets their own customers and excludes other carrier consumers. This is significant because using the carriers’ demographic information, customized content can be created and targeted to the consumer through Twitter advertising. This is a much more targeted advertising approach compared to advertising more generally to all Twitter users.

3. Engage With Customers Using Geography

Social applications like Foursquare and Yelp are designed to give users information based on geography. If a consumer uses his smartphone to search for a nearby sandwich shop on Yelp, the app identifies the user’s location and then provides specific results that matches that location and search criteria. You can use this geographic targeting to reach mobile customers by creating Foursquare or Yelp ads based on a user’s location. For example, if you’re the owner of the sandwich shop, you would create an ad using the keyword “sandwich” and the city and neighborhood names in which the restaurant is located. This is a powerful way to target mobile customers because the individual is already engaged in finding the information based on what he’s searching for and his current location.

4. Use Photo Sharing Applications

Photo applications have become increasingly popular among smartphone users. Instagram currently has 48 million users in the United States, and is on track to reach 100 million within three years. This platform lends itself perfectly to targeting mobile customers because it feeds on the popularity of sharing photos and the phone’s built-in camera. Many companies are virally reaching consumers by encouraging photo-taking in the moment and immediately sharing the experience with friends and followers. The ultimate goal is to create brand awareness and eventually sales. In today’s mobile world, it’s easy to engage with customers using social media. Using Facebook tabs, Twitter advertising, geo-targeting platforms, and photo sharing are a few of the ways customers can engage with your brand. Determine where your target audience lives and start with one strategy to engage them where they already reside.