Mobile phones are not simply for scrolling social media. People use them for shopping, researching, and staying connected with others. In fact, many spend hours on their smartphones daily — whether for work or personal use — making these devices critical for business.
Startups must implement comprehensive marketing strategies to reach their target audiences cost-effectively, cultivate brand awareness, and foster growth. They can do this through mobile app development, Short Message Service (SMS), social media platforms, and mobile-optimized websites. Overall, harnessing the power of cellular technology offers an equitable opportunity and a competitive advantage.
Benefits of mobile marketing for startups
According to the Pew Research Center, 91 percent of Americans owned a smartphone in 2024, with 15 percent forgoing broadband services and solely relying on their handheld devices to access the internet. The average person spends four hours and 30 minutes on their phone per day, not including calls.
A mobile marketing strategy is non-negotiable if entrepreneurs want their businesses to thrive. This marketing tactic benefits new ventures in the following ways:
- Enables greater engagement with the precise target audience compared to traditional approaches
- Allows companies to personalize messaging and facilitate location-based outreach
- Tends to be more lucrative than other marketing streams, offering a variety of ad solutions for every price point
- Delivers valuable data insights for informed decision-making
- Uses analytics to optimize marketing campaigns
8 tips for creating a successful mobile marketing strategy
Startup professionals must strategize an effective mobile marketing blueprint to build their businesses and penetrate their market. The following tips are the key to driving a company’s maturation.
1. Specify the target audience and objectives
Understanding the target audience is essential for the best mobile-based connection and engagement plan. How do consumers use their smartphones? What websites and social media platforms do they visit the most? User personas make it more straightforward for mobile marketers to reach their customer base through content and proper messaging.
Marketing professionals must also have clear, measurable, attainable, and time-bound objectives. For instance, the goal may be to boost app downloads by a certain percentage within three months. A secondary goal might be to increase website traffic by a certain number of visitors within six months.
2. Optimize websites for mobile
Because consumers spend so much time on their phones, startup websites should be accessible and appealing. Visitors want a responsive design to fit various screen sizes for an enhanced user experience.
Best practices for optimizing websites for mobile devices include compressing images, using legible fonts, implementing easy navigation, and ensuring rapid load times. Experts recommend using HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash since smartphones support it better.
3. Utilize mobile advertising
Startup businesses have several options for mobile-based ad targeting to reach their desired audience, including search engine results, websites, and smartphone apps.
Google Ads and social media offer the most effective precision targeting for a receptive audience. They enable companies to examine user demographics, online behaviors, and interests to create powerful campaigns.
4. Adopt SMS marketing
SMS marketing sends direct messages to users’ phones, often leading to high return rates. Research shows 97 percent of SMS subscribers read a business’s text message within 15 minutes of receiving it.
Startups often use promotional text blasts to inform customers about discounts, provide company updates, and communicate customer support. However, it is best to get people’s consent before sending an SMS, allowing them to fill out the text-to-subscribe form themselves.
Out of respect for subscribers, startup ventures should be mindful of message frequency and volume, limiting texts to the most essential information. Otherwise, recipients may unsubscribe.
5. Develop a mobile app
Depending on the startup type, a mobile app may increase user engagement. Businesses can personalize interactions, create loyalty programs, and communicate directly with their target audiences.
Implementing app store optimization helps users find the platform easily in their smartphone’s app store. Marketers must optimize the app title, description, and keywords as they would with search engine optimization.
Duolingo has a highly successful mobile app that encourages users to learn languages on their smartphones. The company generated $192.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 through app purchases and ads, a 40 percent year-over-year increase.
6. Utilize location-based marketing
Location-based marketing helps startups reach consumers in specific locations. Geofencing, in particular, establishes a digital boundary within set parameters for advertisers to distribute content and avoid ineffective ad spend.
For instance, a local cafe might use geofencing to outcompete nearby chains like Starbucks or Panera. Some businesses might enable Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to notify nearby customers of a discount or promotion at their store.
7. Design engaging mobile content
A positive mobile user experience ultimately depends on the delivered content. Startup companies should utilize various media — such as immersive video and personalized messaging — to engage customers.
One study found that interactive video enhanced a memorable experience by 32 percent compared to traditional video content, boosting engagement by 591 percent and generating an 11 times greater conversion rate.
According to Deloitte, 69 percent of consumers would likely purchase from a brand that delivers personalized experiences, and 68 percent say this increases brand satisfaction.
8. Analyze key metrics
Mobile marketing campaigns are only successful if startups continuously tweak their effectiveness over time. To do this, marketers must collect and scrutinize key metrics.
Analytics tools often survey website performance and traffic, app downloads, and conversions. Startups can then use these results to improve existing campaigns and optimize future ones.
Mobile marketing strengthens startup success
To succeed, startups must embrace mobile technology and implement a robust marketing approach. Businesses can flourish long-term by utilizing various tools, metrics, and optimization techniques.
Zac Amos is the Features Editor at ReHack, where he covers business tech, HR, and cybersecurity. He is also a regular contributor at AllBusiness, TalentCulture, and VentureBeat. For more of his work, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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