2016 was crowned "the Year of Mobile" because the number of mobile users reached over 2.1 billion. So in 2017, I think you already know that your digital marketing strategy needs to incorporate mobile marketing. Today, it's impossible to not see people glued to their smartphones' screens. These little hand-held devices easily grab our attention, distract us and keep us entertained, so if you are not targeting your audience by being mobile you could be missing out on an ever-growing market.
More and more statistics are being released on mobile trends. It is unanimous that mobile devices have taken centre stage in our daily lives, as the average person spends at least 3 hours a day using the internet on their mobile device (according to Smart Insights). With this in mind, timing is crucial for content release, especially on social media. Over 50% of smartphone users check their devices immediately after waking up.
Due to this increased time being spent on mobile devices, 68% of companies have integrated mobile marketing into their overall marketing strategy, (according to Salesforce). Companies are focusing on making their website as mobile-friendly as possible because Google says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% will visit a competitor's site instead. 57% of users also said they would not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site, according to (McKinsey & Company).
So if you have not figured it out by now, it is VERY important that you have an effective mobile marketing strategy. It is really important that you grab your audience's attention and even more important, is to convert that attention. There are a number of things you can do to help your mobile marketing make an impact.
Firstly, digital marketing and mobile marketing have a lot in common. However, mobile marketing has a number of things you need to be aware of, even if you are an expert at digital marketing campaigns.
Below are some of these "things" you need to keep in mind:
1. OPTIMISING MOBILE ADS
One of the most known digital marketing methods to promote products is ads and this is exactly the same for mobile marketing. However, to be successful you must display small-sized screen ads. This is very important as nobody wants to read an ad that is not adapted to their mobile device. You always need to make the content, within your ads as clear as possible as well with mobile marketing.
2. DIVERSIFY YOUR ADS SPOTS
It is important to include your ads on social media, websites, and search engines. One of the best spots to place a mobile advert is in apps. A lot of people spend their time on their mobile using apps. In fact, 80% of the time. If you find it relevant for your business to have a spot in an app, do it. You need to know which app will be the most appropriate for your business. Each app has its "typical profile". So do some research on the target market of the app. For instance, many game apps depending on the type of game may be used by younger people.
3. QR CODE
You most likely have seen these before. QR codes are getting more and more popular. They are the little white and black squares you can find on a product's label, on a flyer, or on a poster. You decode the QR code by taking a picture of it after downloading the software. Once it is decoded, it offers you access to a website, a phone number, or even an email address that enables you to access the promotion. More and more businesses are starting to include these in their mobile marketing strategy.
Have you ever noticed ads popping up of businesses that were close to you when you were surfing the internet on your mobile? It's called location-based marketing. Businesses actually buy "geographic ads' spot"; This means that if you are near the company, you will see their ads.
If you are too far away, then logically the ads will not appear on your screen. This is a great option to use if you are a small to medium-sized business, as it captures the attention of people within your area that may be looking for your product or service. For instance, if you own a café or restaurant, local traffic is what you are after and after all we've all got to eat right?
Location-based marketing is an amazing tool when it is put to good use, but you need to really research and know which customers you want to target, as each business is different and unique when adopting this type of mobile marketing strategy.
We all know about
email marketing, which is an effective marketing strategy to build relationships with your audience. SMS marketing can be just as effective, surprisingly even more so. It turns out that SMS marketing is more efficient than the classic email campaign. 98% of SMS messages are read compared to 22.5% of emails. However, do not send too many SMS messages, otherwise, you risk a high rate of opt-outs. The most you should SMS is 4 messages a month. Like with email marketing, you need to work on increasing your database to have a wider reach and like with email marketing you can offer them an incentive to sign up.
If you are using this strategy within your marketing, then make sure your campaigns are mobile-responsive. Many email marketing software offer templates that are responsive and with more and more people, in fact, about 53% of emails are opened on mobile devices, it is important that you make sure you are using tools that enable you to email responsive on mobile devices.
7. ADAPT YOUR SITE
As previously stated, 57% of users say they won't recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site and with Google announced back in 2015 that mobile search queries had taken over desktop queries within ten countries, including the USA, Australia and Japan. This means your website MUST be mobile-friendly. There are tools that exist online to help turn your site into a responsive website and if your site is built using a CMS then there are responsive templates available for you to use. However regardless of the above information, there are still millions of websites online that are not mobile-friendly, and if you are one of those businesses then talk to a web designer today, or better yet give us a call.
The key to mobile marketing is adaptation. Mobile marketing is considered to be a form of digital marketing, so anything that is relevant to digital marketing is also relevant to mobile marketing. Like any marketing channel though you need to design and incorporate your content for that medium to better reach and market to your audience engaging with mobile.
Remember to make your content clear and responsive. Research your audience and their habits with how they use their mobile-first before creating your mobile marketing strategy and where you will spend your marketing dollars to get the desired results you are after. This will be very helpful in particular with ad placement, as well as with any location-based marketing you may do.