Marketing in a Mobile World
Technology has changed everything. It has changed how we consume media, how we interact with one another, and how we consume goods and services. Over the years, our clunky mobile bricks (otherwise known as cell phones) transformed into smart devices with cameras that now manage almost every aspect of our lives. Larger-than-life computer towers turned into compact laptops which then spawned mobile tablets. As our devices continue to morph (and shrink), our mobility increases and our means of communication transform. Coupled with advancements in technology, our devices have become our main driver to communicate, share socially, and make purchases. This change has led to even greater expectation from brands and companies with which we interact. In order for marketers to keep up, we need to ensure our marketing strategies address this drive towards mobility.
Mobile marketing is not new, but our strategies have changed. It seems like just yesterday, our sole focus was ensuring our website was mobile-friendly. While it is still important to ensure your digital communications can be utilized across multiple mobile devices, responsiveness and mobile-accessibility are simply a piece of the mobile marketing landscape. If you’re considering a mobile marketing strategy, or you’re re-evaluating an existing one, here are nine strategies to keep in mind.
Be Mobile-Friendly
In today’s world, it goes without saying that all of your digital communications (websites, emails, landing pages, etc.) should be mobile-friendly and responsive. If you still have unresponsive templates, it’s time to consider a conversion. As you think about your digital communication in relation to mobile, consider other forms as well, including your online ads and your search ads. Don’t assume your current designs will work well on a mobile device. Do your due diligence and test everything across a multitude of devices, operating systems, internet service providers, etc.
Utilize Video
Video content, video ads, and performance videos are becoming more and more popular and expected. The rise of video content has been fueled by our preference for mobile watching, video recommendations on social, and social media platforms like TikTok. We’ve become accustomed to seeing video content across a multitude of channels and, quite often, video is successful due to its inherent engagement. Consider ways you can utilize video in your marketing efforts, and how you can best reach your audience in their mobile environment. Social media, websites, apps, games, and video streaming service are hot beds for distributing content to your buyer. Keep in mind that your video doesn’t have to be professionally done. “Raw” content is typical, widely accepted, and often seen as more authentic.
Don’t Forget to Text
Texting has become second-nature to us. It’s often how we communicate with friends, family, and our greater world. Many of us rely on texts for updates and communication from brands and companies with which we are intimate. Many of us expect text updates on appointments, deliveries, and medications. As consumers with strong relationships with brands, we welcome text messages regarding offers, announcements, and new products and services. When considering text messaging for your business, think about your customers. How would they benefit from SMS? Keep in mind that texting is just as relevant for B2B as it is for B2C. If done with the right audience and personal touch, SMS can be ideal for follow-ups, marketing messages, event reminders, and relevant information.
Remember Your Voice
If Siri, Google, and Alexa have taught us anything, it’s that voice-activated search is on the rise. Whether we speak into our search engines, mobile devices, tablets, or remote controls, we often use speech to find what we need. In some cases, voice search provides accessibility for those that can’t access search in other ways. As these “assistants” become more prevalent, it’s critical to re-evaluate your search engine optimization to be voice optimized. You should also think about how your content is developed. Think about the words, phrases, and questions your customers may pose through voice search.
Use Location
Most mobile phones are GPS-enabled, and many of your customers will allow their location to be tracked, especially with apps and brands they love. Location-based marketing is an incredibly powerful way to interact with your customers, offering them benefits when and where they matter most. Based on a customer’s specific location, you can offer ads, push notifications, texts, etc. providing guidance, promotions, recommendations, and more. Not only does this equate to convenience, savings, and benefits for your customers, but it also lets you drive customers to your products and services when they have the greatest likelihood to convert.
Look into Apps
The prevalence of phone and tablet apps opens a whole new avenue for you to reach customers and prospects in a personalized and relevant way. If you have an app already, or are planning to develop one, there are multiple ways you can market and engage with your audience. Push notifications can offer reminders, promotions, and personalized messages when it matters most. In-App notifications can promote specific content, new products and services, limited deals, and highly targeted engagement offers. Even if you don’t have your own app, you can look for ways to offer app-based ads and run app-based campaigns. A number of service providers can be used to place your ads in apps that matter to your customers.
Play the Games
Gaming is an increasingly growing industry and offers a ripe environment to reach customers and prospects. In-game marketing can be lucrative if targeted correctly and done in proper context with the game being played. Ads, pop-ups, videos, messages, etc. are quite common in games, especially those touted as “free.” Consider the audience profile for these games and whether your message fits into the overall gaming environment. If you feel your content is beneficial to these individuals, and the context of the game meshes well with your products and services, in-game marketing may be a good fit for your business.
Make Buying Easy
Chances are that your customers are buying online, especially if you are marketing directly to consumers. A poor mobile shopping experience may drive customers to purchase elsewhere. Ease, speed, and convenience are critical when developing your online e-commerce platforms. Make sure that your customers can easily navigate your site, find the products they need, and make seamless purchases. Consider your UI, navigational structure, search capabilities, and payment options. If you have an app, ensure the buying experience is similarly fluent while also guiding the customer to popular, recommended, and related products. Analyze the entire buying experience, and ensure it’s optimal for mobile platforms.
Be Engaging
Mobile marketing provides marketers with new and exciting ways to engage and interact with our customers. Think “outside the square” when considering ways you can provide ease and comfort to your customers. Simple things like displaying QR codes for easy access to information, offering coupons on mobile devices, allowing customers to utilize their mobile wallet, offering mobile payment options, and providing online social interaction are just a few ways you can differentiate yourself from competitors and make a difference for your customers.
As you consider the various ways you can utilize mobile marketing in your strategy, remember that customer empathy still trumps all. Like anything else, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Consider the nature of your audience, their behaviors, and their needs before deciding which mobile plans are right for you. At the end of the day, we want to ensure that we are providing an optimal experience to our customers, and are engaging them on their terms. Providing a consistent and unified experience to our customers is first and foremost.
If you are considering mobile marketing, and you’d like to discuss strategies that make sense for your business, Relationship One is always here to help.
