Oftentimes, we forget the great strides we’ve made in the digital world, especially when it comes to mobile technology. Think back to five years ago—September 2009. Did you own a smartphone then? I didn’t. While some early adopters and business-minded individuals already had the first few generations of iPhones or archaic Blackberrys, I was reluctant to jump on the smartphone bandwagon. Why would I need access to the Internet on my cell phone? I was a college student, and I had a laptop that was plenty portable and worked just fine.
I remember feeling just as perplexed when Apple first released the iPad in April 2010. Interestingly enough, the release of the iPad was about the time when the smartphone gotta-have-it phenomenon came about. The mobile, always-on culture took off and spread like wildfire. According to a 2013 Nielsen report, 94 percent of people in the United States now use a mobile device, with 53 percent using a smartphone.
Even more staggering, 86 percent of U.S. mobile device users send text messages (SMS), 82 percent browse the web, 75 percent check email and 63 percent use social networking applications. Here’s what I’m getting at: it’s time to put a focus on mobile platforms when developing a marketing strategy for your business.
Developing effective mobile content can spill into a variety of facets, whether it is layout and readability, shareability of content via email or social media, text message marketing, mobile advertising and even technical function and navigation. Any way you look at it, if your business doesn’t have a mobile strategy, you are already behind your peers.
A good example of a brand that has executed mobile content well is USA TODAY. In fact, USA TODAY now considers itself a “multi-platform news and information media company.” The “media company” recognized that a growing number of readers prefer to receive their news digitally, and management wasn’t planning on getting left in the dust with some of their slow-moving competitors. Fantasy Interactive describes USA TODAY’s 2013 website redesign:
“Today’s savvy readers/consumers no longer simply skim above-the-fold and move on. Instead, they come with a specific purpose, a mission if you will, and our job is to offer an experience designed to help them fulfill those missions on a regular basis, in the most efficient way possible. Similarly, for the publishers and advertisers, we meet their end objectives by providing an innately shareable experience that lends itself to the broadest organic reach available. In sum, the new usatoday.com delivers a news site that serves the core business needs of those involved in the production and delivery of the content, while catering specifically to the needs and objectives of its rapidly expanding digitally- native audience. If we make it easy to consume and share content in a way that’s natural and familiar to the reader, we provide a winning proposition for all involved.”
No matter your business sector, it’s important to establish exceptional mobile content that is fluid, short and to the point, easy to read and limits clicking and navigating back and forth. Ensuring your website has mobile compatibility is a must, and easy social sharing on each page should be a given—“easy” being the keyword here. Nothing is more frustrating than pulling up a web page on a mobile device and not being able to scroll or zoom to see the entire page. Without ease of navigation, you’re alienating a vast extent of prospects who have tried to learn more about your business, but can’t.
If you’re not ready to leap whole-heartedly into the tech savvy world by developing a mobile application or investing in mobile advertising, consider taking one step forward. Text message marketing is a great way to ease into the mobile content realm. Begin by sending discounts or promotions in text messages to your existing customers, who will forward these special deals to friends, as well as spread the word by mouth. The more prospects that sign up to receive your text messages, the more customers you will gain. It’s imperative to note, however, that these text messages should instantaneously grab attention and be free of spelling and grammar errors. Also, remain cognizant of how many text messages you are sending to your contacts, as too many text promotions can become annoying and unmanageable.
If you’re interested in improving your content marketing strategies or think there’s more you can be doing to attract prospects using mobile devices, we’d be happy to set up a marketing strategy consultation with you.
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Rachel Borowski is an account executive for WordWrite Communications. She can be reached at rachel.borowski@wordwritepr.com and found on Twitter @RachelBro_ski.
