June 20, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Top 7 Mobile Marketing Tips

No matter what we might think of it, our mobile devices are increasingly becoming a more significant part of our daily lives. There are some studies that are predicting that by 2018 more than one billion individuals across the globe will be using smartphones.

Marketers need to view this as an excellent opportunity to come up with real-time, personalized and unique ways to engage and connect with their customers, like taking advantage of using Google My Business for example.

But what are the things that are most important to know about mobile marketing?

Our Houston search engine optimization team has put together the following tips to cover the most important things you need to know when it comes to mobile marketing for 2017:

1. Mobile Isn’t Just About Phones

There is more that mobile marketing covers than just reaching individuals on their smartphones. It actually encompasses a wide range of different technologies and devices that you will want to consider. It is important to think about the various operating systems, sizes of device and types of activities individuals are doing on different tablets and phones. For example, a recent study conducted by Forrester showered that 66% of smartphone users use their device while they are in the store, but only 9% of tablet users do this.

2. Fundamental Marketing Principles Are Still Applicable

Whether you are using mobile, print or radio advertising, the small fundamentals of marketing are still applicable. Ultimately, it is all about conveying the right message at the right time to the right customer. Working under the assumption that the initial way that your brand is experienced by customers is via mobile, and utilize tools such as Google Analytics in order to learn as much as you can about their behavior, device, and location.

3. Mobile Marketing Is Constantly Changing

Although it is always a good idea to have a plan, when it comes to mobile marketing one of the most important things that you need to know is that your marketing plan needs to reflect the constantly changing nature of the industry. New operating systems, apps and devices will all come and go and impact the mobile marketing efforts that you do in some way. Your mobile marketing plan should have periodic reviews built into it to help you assess whatever changes are occurring and then making the appropriate adjustments to it.

4. Your Focus Should Be On Responsive Design

When you have a responsive website it means your online content is optimized at all times for viewing on numerous different devices. Not only will this help to ensure that users have a positive experience no matter what device they are using, but it is also important to have a responsive design due to the latest Google algorithm that ranks pages according to how mobile-friendly they are. Those who don’t make the effort to optimize for mobile will be penalized and have lower search rankings.

5. Don’t Be In A Hurry To Develop Apps

It is often expensive and time-consuming to develop your own app, and depending on your business it might not actually be necessary. If you are able to achieve the functionality that you need for your website, then it may not be necessary to spend a lot of effort and time on web development. The key to getting all of this is work is understanding what your visitors need the most from your business (location, phone number, hours, promotions, etc) and then provide that to them on your responsive and optimized website.

5. Video Is Becoming Increasingly Popular

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have been integrated seamlessly to be able to watch video content easily as part of the mobile experience. Utilizing video to advertising on mobile is in its infancy still, but it is among the fasting growing methods. A recent study by Google suggests that individuals who watch videos on their smartphones are 1.4 times more likely to view ads compared to people who watch videos on televisions or desktop computers. In addition, when it comes to sharing videos, smartphone viewers are 1.8 times more likely to do this compared to individuals on personal computers.

7. Listen Carefully To Your Customers

Although you might be very eager to use mobile to get the word out about your products and services to your customers, remember that mobile is an extremely personal type of communication. Trying to blast your way through to customers will likely provide you with negative or subpar results. It is very important that you listen carefully to your customers to be able to establish a connection with the correct audience and communicate the right message to them at the right time. A recent survey conducted by PWC found that users say they prefer a more conversational approach instead of an impersonal one when it comes to mobile advertising.

If you keep these fundamental mobile marketing principles in mind when developing your mobile strategy, it will allow you to attract more customers as well as engage with them over the long-term, effectively. Mobile marketing is rapidly and constantly evolving, so if you can stay up to date on all of the newest technologies and techniques, you will be able to leverage mobile successfully as a key component in building your brand.