Mobile computing is the order of the day. Think about it: How often do you view email messages on a desktop machine anymore?
If your strategic plan does not take mobile devices into consideration, you are already trailing the paradigm. The good news is you do have a lot of company, as many larger institutions are foot dragging in this regard as well. That doesn’t make it all right though. Your bottom line suffers each and every day you fail to accommodate this shift.
With that said, here are some mobile marketing best practices to consider.
Mobile Optimization Is Paramount
Your web presence must absolutely be optimized for mobile display. The good news is most free ecommerce website templates available today already take this into consideration. This will minimize the outlay you must make to comply with this requirement. And trust us, it is exactly that—a requirement.
Simple Is Always Best
Yes, we know, you just made a huge spend on your website with a top designer to come up with a look that’s going to establish you as the market leader. However, if that design is overly complex and won’t translate well to a small screen, you just wasted a whole lot of money. Simplicity and speedare the watchwords here.
Computing on the go often means attention splitting, so your messages must be easily digested if they are to have a chance at initiating a behavioral change. Similarly, complicated graphics slow load times. Ideally, emails, ads and sites designed for mobile should be as simple as possible to ensure your message is received.
Brevity Is Crucial
This brings us back to that idea of co-processing we discussed above. This, along with less real estate within which to make your point, makes getting directly to the point a must. In truth, any writing for the internet should be as concise as possible, however this is even more important when developing content for mobile consumption.
Think Local
Mobile computing has proven to be a real boon for local businesses. People continually ask their handheld machines questions like: “Please direct me to the nearest coffee shop?” “Where is the closest branch of My Credit Union?” “Where can I find a tire repair shop?” In other words, mobile devices tend to be relied upon for navigating a user’s immediate environment. Keeping this in mind, you’ll do well to include location specific content when it applies to the nature of your business. And, even if it doesn’t, you’ll want to find a way to make it do so.
Plan for Errors
Typing on the go invites spelling errors. Include commonly misspelled wordsrelating to your business in your campaigns. To learn which of your keywords might be prone to typos, enter them on your smartphone quickly, pay attention to what happens and respond accordingly. You can also focus your campaigns around platforms that include phrase-matching options to accommodate misspellings, plurals and close variants to your keywords.
Eliminate Obstacles
Keep your domain name simple, so it can be input easily. Make sure navigation is straightforward and uncomplicated. Keep things on the screen large enough to be seen without squinting. Reduce the amount of scrolling in which users must engage. Allow them to phone you with a touch of a button on the screen, rather than dialing your number. Let them find your nearest location at a touch.
Convenience is the whole point behind mobile computing. Your goal is to do everything possible to ensure getting to you through those devices is as easy as possible. Adhering to these mobile marketing best practices will help you accomplish just that.
