A growing number of businesses are choosing to engage with consumers through their mobile phones, an analyst has noted.

According to Michael Baker of the Age, mobile marketing has become one of the most important trends in global marketing this year.

This, he said, is because more and more firms are giving customers the option of receiving promotional content on their handsets.

Mr Baker noted that consumers are required to opt in to mobile marketing strategies, which means their personal information can be input to data management systems.

"The retailer builds a database of customers with whom it has authority to conduct real-time communications," he commented.

Mr Baker added that text messages are being widely used to alert customers to various promotional offers, special deals and new products.

This comes shortly after the Kelsey Group stated that the growing take-up of smartphones has helped to fuel growth in the mobile advertising industry.

Have you started giving your customers the option of recieving info and offers on their mobile? You may have already started with email, so why not throw mobile in the mix.

Mobile communication can act as a great support mechanism to your email marketing, or can be awesome as a stand alone tool too.

Get your brand in your customers hand today!