One of the goals of our weekly internet marketing tips is to keep you up to date about what you need to know in the world of internet marketing. There is always something happening. Which means something is always trying to get your attention. Most of us are aware of this because we can’t ignore the constant buzzing or vibrating from that little device in our pockets that gives us unlimited access to the latest information from our social media accounts, emails, text messages and maybe even an actual phone call. Our mobile devices are powerful.
Mary Meeker, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a top Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and former top Wall Street analyst, releases a big report each year about the important trends on the internet. You can bet each of these trends affect internet marketing in some way. Her most recent report was released last week and one statistic in particular popped out to me:
“Mobile traffic represents 15% of all internet traffic, versus less than 1 percent in May 2009. By this time next year mobile should approach 25% of global internet traffic. Today in China more people access the web via mobile devices than via PCs.” (Source: HubSpot)
That’s a big deal and worth repeating! By this time next year one-fourth of all traffic on the internet will probably be from mobile. What does this mean for your internet marketing strategy?
Just in case you aren’t completely sure, let’s define what “mobile” means. According to Marketing Land “mobile marketing involves reaching customers and prospects when they’re using the internet away from the traditional home/office desktop environment.” This could be using your tablet while sitting on the couch or in a coffee shop, or using your cell phone while on the go.
Mobile marketing is the “distribution of any kind of promotional or advertising messages to customers through wireless networks” or more specifically “using interactive wireless media to provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services and ideas, thereby generating value for all.” (Source: Mashable)
Now that we have cleared up, here are some internet marketing tips related to mobile marketing:
You must have a mobile-friendly website
This involves back-end tech geek stuff, but it’s important because when people access your website via their smart phone, you want them to be able to see the information you have there in a clear way, instead of it being all jumbled and difficult to get to. Otherwise, you’ll lose them! Talk to your website guys to find out if your site is optimized for mobile.
Find out if people are finding your business via mobile searches
An easy way to determine this is to do some quick research using Google’s Keyword Tool to find the sources of your website traffic. Find out what keywords people are searching for and if the traffic is organic or paid. If most of your traffic is coming from mobile searches, then you know that you should prioritize your mobile SEO strategy.
Make sure emails are optimized for mobile
If your small business is focusing more on email marketing and lead nurturing then you want to be darn well sure your emails are optimized for mobile viewing. This means that they look good and can be easily read across all email platforms, the subject lines are compelling and stay close to 20 characters or less, your emails have limited images, and the reader won’t have to scroll too much, especially left or right.
SMS alerts can be effective
SMS or Short Message Service refers to sending text alerts and reminders to customer’s cell phones. It can be particularly effective if you are wanting to focus on the customer’s experience because it’s non-intrusive and convenient. Examples of businesses that might use this are retail chains sending a special discount or banks alerting customers of a balance on their account.
Be contextually relevant
When people are using their mobile devices, they are usually focusing on a specific task. For example, if you’re in Union Square in San Francisco and you want to know where to have dinner, you take out your cell phone to see what’s around. The task (looking for a place to have dinner) provides online content (a list of reviews for nearby restaurants) for a specific place (near Union Square in San Francisco). They choose your restaurant because your awesome mobile efforts are working!
Mobile marketing and optimization is just one piece of a holistic internet marketing strategy and it’s becoming increasingly important. We hope today’s internet marketing tips gave you a little bit of insight into the world of mobile and why it matters.
We'll leave you with the infographic below for some mobile marketing best practices:
