What is mobile marketing and how can I use it to grow my business?

The desktop days are over – 80% of internet users own smartphones, and 90% of Facebook’s daily active users access the social media network via phones.

As technology advances, more and more people are switching over to their smartphones for communication, social networking, and – you guessed it – purchasing. So what’s the best way to target your mobile audience? And what, exactly, is mobile marketing?

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a highly personal multi-channel digital marketing strategy that targets users on their smartphones or tablets. There are a number of ways to approach engaging these users via mobile marketing: websites, texts, emails, social media, apps, and more. 60% of digital media time in the U.S. is spent by users on their smartphones or tablets. And because most people today have their phones on them at all times, reaching customers, clients, or patients has never been easier.
Effective mobile advertising employs a few different skills: understanding your audience, optimizing your website for mobile devices, and making the most of social media channels.

Understand Your Audience

Since there are so many different mobile platforms you can utilize, it’s important to know which ones fit the specific audience and needs of your business. This is where having a second set of eyes like a marketing agency can be especially helpful.

By comparing your audience with the habits of smartphone users, you can play to your strengths and target a specific demographic with your mobile campaigns. Is your audience familiar with online shopping? Which apps do they use most often?
Here’s a great place to start:

• At 52%, app usage makes up the majority of total digital media engagement
• The most popular smartphone apps of 2016 were Facebook, Facebook Messenger, YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Search. Also ranking in the top ten were Instagram and Amazon.
• 66% of all email in the US is opened on smartphones or tablets, while 34% is viewed on a desktop.

Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices

Is your website smartphone-friendly? In 2015 Google began using mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. While this doesn’t affect your desktop traffic, it will affect mobile search rankings worldwide.

A mobile-friendly website loads on Androids, iPhones, and everything in between, fits the screen without excessive zooming and scrolling, and uses clean formatting that is crash-free and easy to read. Loading time is crucial to mobile users – the slower a page loads, the higher the chance a user will leave. 64% of mobile users leave websites if the page doesn’t load in 10 seconds or less. Check if your website is mobile-friendly here.
Google has a great guide on how to increase your website’s mobile accessibility focused on one goal: simplify your website so visitors can complete their missions – whether they’re making a purchase or just trying to ask a question.

Make the Most of Social Media

Before you choose which social media channels or campaigns to move forward with, it’s important to decide what you’re hoping to achieve. Increased likes and engagement on your Facebook page? More traffic driven to your website? Better branding on Instagram? Simplified Customer Service through Twitter? Every social media channel has different strengths and weaknesses.
No one wants to read blocks of chunky text on a tiny screen, no matter how fancy your phone might be! On Facebook or Twitter you’ll want to engage fans of your brand on a personal level by asking questions or giving quick, helpful, and fun facts. If you decide that an essay is the way to go, make sure you break your paragraphs up into bite-sized pieces or add photos so they’re more visually appealing. Adding colorful visuals increases willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.

Visual content platforms like Instagram and SnapChat work wonders on smartphones because they’re already formatted for mobile. Visual platforms allow ads to blend seamlessly with organic content, creating a user-friendly experience that helps you share your story and products.

Better Together

Mobile efficiency is a crucial piece of today’s marketing puzzle – but it’s not a stand-alone effort. From email to blogging to social media to SEO, successful marketing campaigns need tending especially with the ever-changing landscape of technology. But one thing is certain – mobile phones aren’t going away anytime soon!