Want to hang out? Not in person, of course. I mean on your smartphone. We keep our cell phones with us 24/7. We are constantly connected to each other and the world at large. And that’s why your mobile is money to your business. If you haven’t implemented a mobile marketing strategy yet, this is why it must come first.
We’re Living in a Mobile World
Mobile is disrupting the way people engage with brands. Reports show that 72% of Americans check their smartphones at least once per hour. And those rates get higher for millennials. Twenty-five percent of millennials admit to checking every 15 minutes, and about 20% check their smartphones at least ten times per hour.
Not only do we carry our smartphones around with us during the day, we sleep with them, or at least near them, at night. Is your phone the last thing you look at night? How about the first thing you pick up in the morning? Over half of Americans keep their smartphone near them while they are sleeping.
All that mobile interaction is disrupting the way that people engage with each other. Perhaps you’ve seen it on your own social media timeline, interactions between friends and businesses. We don’t have to wonder about things anymore. The answer to any question is literally in our hands. Wondering who that familiar looking extra is in the movie you’re watching? You don’t even have to type it out, ask Siri or say, ‘OK Google’ and wait for the answer to appear.
Mobile searching, downloading, and purchasing has already taken over their desktop equivalents. So, it probably isn’t a surprise that mobile marketing is on the rise to match. In just one year the number of marketers using some kind of mobile marketing jumped by 50%. Between websites, email, SMS, and MMS are you ready to take on mobile marketing?
Smaller Messages For a Smaller Screen
You can’t engage with mobile marketing the same as with desktop. Mobile optimization doesn’t mean taking what you already have and simply sizing it down for smartphones and tablets. Mobile optimization is creating a new message that works for smaller mobile screens. Overall, messaging for mobile needs to be more concise.
Those screens also need to have some mobile optimization. Responsive web design allows for fluidity between viewing devices. Page elements, including ads, are proportionally based rather than fixed sizes. Be aware of page speed when considering mobile optimization. Page speed is even more important for on-the-go mobile users than it was for desktop users.
Tools like pop-ups aren’t as effective and lower a customer’s experience. And, ad placement ‘above the fold’ doesn’t have the same meaning on a mobile screen where you can scroll endlessly.
Mobile Optimization Strategies
Five key areas for marketers are location-based mobile tracking, mobile applications, mobile loyalty campaigns, SMS promotions, and push notifications. The most popular mobile marketing activity? That would be the mobile loyalty campaigns.
Remember getting customer loyalty cards that you could punch each time you made a purchase? Now you can do it on your phone and never experience the agony of buying a smoothie, forgetting your card, and missing out on getting a stamp.
While you’re enjoying that smoothie you got using the mobile loyalty program you’re probably perusing your phone. And you’re getting frustrated while you hold your smoothie in one hand and try to click through on a link with your other hand. This will teach you to absolutely not cram too many elements onto that small screen.
Nothing is more frustrating than trying to click on one link and ending up somewhere else because you’re finger bumped the wrong spot on the screen. Keeping things spaced out will ensure that your customers get where they want. And what your customers want is to click. The click-through rate of mobiles is 19% higher than desktops and tablets boast a 28% higher click-through rate.
Know where else your customers like to click? A hint, it’s probably not email. Email is a great way to impart knowledge to your customers, and it’s something that needs to be optimized for mobile viewing. That means great subject lines and vertical images. More than half email campaigns are opened on a mobile device. But only about 4% of them are clicking through the links in that email. If you’re looking for a higher CTR try SMS as part of your mobile optimization strategy. The SMS click-through rate is a hefty 19%.
Okay, back to that customer loyalty thing. Why do customers use loyalty programs? For the chance to save money. We all like to save money, right? If 80% of smartphone users are using their devices to shop, then their device is the clear answer for where to send coupons. Combine that SMS click-through rate with a coupon and you’ve got a mobile winner.
There are 1.68 billion active mobile social accounts. Want to know where your particular users are? Apparently, you can bribe them. And it might only cost you $5. For a $5 store credit, almost 50% of women would disclose their location. Bump that up to $25 and over 80% will give up their location.
QR codes are not my favorite thing, but they have been around for over a decade and continue to see growth. It’s pretty easy to slap a QR code on pretty much anything.
The nearly 2 billion active mobile users are out there just waiting for you to find them. Whether it’s through smartphones, tablets, via website, email, SMS, social media, or apps, get your mobile optimization strategy in place and start targeting them today. Mobile is money and you don’t want to be missing out.
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