When you think about the experience your brand provides users, does it include mobile? If not, it's time to boost your mobile marketing campaigns so you cater to every single user who visits and engages with your website.
In 2019, you can't expect your business to grow without addressing a mobile marketing strategy. Mobile marketing aims to target and cater to users on non-desktop devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile users who engage with your brand must have a positive experience that brings them back. Otherwise, you miss out on creating conversions and generating sales.
Why should you have a mobile marketing strategy?
Google constantly changes and updates its algorithm for ranking content. It considers how users interact with websites and what provides the smoothest, most painless experience to find content. It's crucial to align your marketing practices according to Google's indexing so your website shows up when your target audience performs a search.
In early 2018, Google introduced mobile-first indexing. This means Google uses the mobile version of a webpage for indexing and ranking so it's easier for those on mobile devices to find and interact with content. When Google's crawlers indicate that a page is mobile-friendly, it adds this information to its database and presents it to mobile users. This increases the chances of a mobile-optimized website appearing for users who can easily navigate and interact with it.
In a nutshell, if you want your content to show up in a Google search, you need to use mobile-friendly practices in all areas of your marketing. This includes your website, social media, email marketing and more. If it's difficult for mobile users to navigate, you're missing out on conversions and feedback.
There are numerous studies and statistics out there that emphasize the importance of catering to the mobile experience:
- More than half of all online traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices.
- According to Google, 89% of consumers are likely to recommend a brand if they have a positive experience using a mobile device.
- By 2021, mobile commerce is expected to generate 9% of all retail e-commerce.
3 elements of a successful mobile marketing strategy
If you have yet to create a mobile marketing strategy, it's time to get started. In this article, I will go over the following:
- How to create mobile-friendly content
- Why you should use mobile popups
- What steps you can take to improve the user experience (UX)
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1. Create mobile-friendly content.
Do you know what kind of content constitutes being mobile-friendly? If you don't, you're likely creating content that doesn't suit mobile users and makes it difficult for them to interact with your business online.
Imagine the type of experience you want when you visit a website on your smartphone and apply it to your content marketing strategy.
There are a few things to remember when formatting your content:
- Is all the text evenly spaced out and easy to read?
- Is the content interspersed with visuals to break up the text and grab readers' attention?
- Are there titles, headers and subheads to guide readers and help them find the information they're looking for?
Because mobile users are more specific in search engines, use specific terms and keywords when creating content. People aren't searching for "tennis shoes" when they go shopping; they're looking for the nearest "Nike Air Force Ones." Most people already know what they want when they use their phones to perform a search. Therefore, the more specific your keywords are, the easier it is for your audience to find your content.
How you set up your content matters. If it's difficult for a mobile user to engage with it, then you're neglecting more than half your target audience, which is a steep hit to your conversions.
2. Use mobile popups.
When you run a campaign, consider how mobile users will interact with it. You need to market to as many visitors as you can for the best possible outcome. If you don't create optimized mobile campaigns, you're failing to cater to a huge portion of your audience.
It's frustrating browsing a website not optimized for multiple devices, which leads to a high bounce rate and abandoned carts. What's even more annoying for users are popups that don't load properly. This builds a negative rapport between your brand and its visitors, hurting the results of your campaign.
To increase your campaign's mobile conversions and cater to non-desktop users, use mobile popups built specifically for this group of consumers. Mobile popups make it easier for visitors to view your offer, sign up and continue consuming your content. Rather than struggle to interact with your site's pesky opt-ins, mobile users can easily navigate where they want to go.
3. Improve the UX.
When people have a negative user experience with a brand on a mobile device, they're 60% less likely to purchase from that brand in the future. You should ensure that visitors have a smooth transition from page to page while browsing your website. Your website's mobile UX determines if your mobile users will return, so it's crucial to pay attention to UX when creating your mobile marketing strategy. It should be easy for visitors to navigate your website and find the content they're looking for. Here are two ways to do this.
1. Accelerate the site speed.
What interrupts the mobile experience more than a page that takes eons to load? Around 53% of mobile users abandon a webpage that takes longer than three seconds to load, skyrocketing bounce rates for slow websites.
Site speed is now a ranking factor Google uses to index content for mobile searches. If your website lags, your content will rank lower and not as many people will see it, thus reducing your engagement.
There are several ways to improve website speed so you keep your audience's attention and provide a smooth UX that encourages them to come back:
- Compress images to smaller file sizes so they load quickly.
- Use browser caching so your entire website doesn't require a reload when someone revisits.
- Use a content distribution network (CDN) to increase your site's accessibility and reliability.
- Remove unnecessary code from JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
2. Use responsive design.
How easy is it for mobile users to navigate your website? If it's challenging to click links, interact with your menu or fill out a contact form, you need responsive website design.
Remember to use responsive contact forms that are easy to fill out and don't pose complications. Avoid asking users to submit information you don't need, like their phone number or home address. An email address should suffice for new subscribers. Form conversions increase by 26% when there are fewer fields to fill out.
Are your calls to action easy for mobile users to spot and click on? If they're difficult to see on a mobile or tablet device, you won't drive conversions. You need to simplify the process of collecting user information and persuading consumers to take the action you want, so an easily accessible call to action is crucial.
Over to you
You need to cater to mobile users for your campaigns to have any chance of increasing conversions and driving engagement. The way we use search engines is constantly changing, and your marketing strategies need to evolve as well.
You cater to consumers better when you provide a smooth user experience for everyone interested in your brand, so if you haven't already optimized for mobile, it's past time to get started.
How will you boost your next mobile marketing campaign?