Smart phones, such as Apple’s iPhone and Android phones, have become the norm today. With that comes a new world of marketing. Mobile marketing is essential to succeed in business, and while it shares much with traditional Internet marketing, there are quite a few key differences. Knowing these differences is essential to building the strongest mobile campaigns possible. Some of the most important are outlined below, plus how best to take advantage of them.

Keeping your file and document sizes small is very important. Mobile devices do not have the computing power, nor typically the brandband speeds, of your traditional compiter. Therefore, Internet marketing tactics that may be powerful on a computer, may fail miserably in a mobile setting. It may simply take too long to download your promotional material or your email. Your potential customer is on the go (it is mobile afterall), so timing is critical. Keep the file sizes as small as they can be. Look for tactics that take the least amount of bandwidth to deliver. It may be the case that you have two versions of an internet marketing tactic: One for the traditional computer and another that is optimized for mobile delivery.

Following in the trend of smaller is better, steering clear of graphically intense tactics is also important to mobile marketing. As before, there is the concern of large file sizes, but there are also legibility concerns. The beautifully layered graphic that performs amazingly in traditional email marketing, may be impossible to see on a mobile device’s tiny screen. Because of this, mobile marketing that effectively uses engaging and impactful text-based messaging typically outperforms other methods.

Mobile ad design, then, is very different than traditional marketing. Think of mobile ad design more like the billboard marketing you see on the highway. You only have a few heartbeats to grab the attention of the people speeding by, and the same is true for the busy smart phone user on the go. What makes a good billboard? The best ones are anchored by a simple five to seven words that have been designed for impact, and they have a memorable and direct call to action. You need to get to the point in mobile marketing very quickly. Engage your potential customers with a quality headline and direct them to the action you want immediately after. If it takes too long to get to the point in mobile marketing, you will lose your readers very quickly.

As for social media tactics, the rules for Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and the like are very similar across all marketing efforts. The big difference from a social standpoint for mobile marketing is to take advantage of location-aware social tools. Services like Foursquare give you the opportunity to deliver discounts and exclusive offers to potential customers while they may be very close to, or even in, your place of business. These mobile strategies can give you a real direct return on investment, one that is very measurable.

Now that you know some of the differences between traditional Internet marketing and mobile marketing, you are ready to take the next steps for your business. Begin mobile marketing today, and remember to keep researching. Mobile technologies are changing fast; it’s important to keep on top of the opportunities!