Mobile Marketing: The Mobile-First Frontier
Chris Mulvaney is the CEO of CMDS. I make things... I’m the creative entrepreneur with passion for (re)making brands and inventing solutions to problems no one knows exist.
CRACK! Goes the pistol. The sprinters explode from the blocks! The race has already begun. Question: Where are you?
Are you running? Watching? Did you even hear the gun go off? Well, the gun went off, my friends. The race is on…
But you didn’t hear it, you say? Perhaps I confused you with the cunning use of my metaphor. In this case, the gun was actually an announcement. An announcement heard around the world.
Google has gone mobile-first… Bang.
What does Google rolling out mobile-first indexing mean?
It means Google has begun to prioritize mobile sites over desktop sites. Mobile-friendliness will determine how a site is ranked moving forward. That will have a huge impact on SEO.
Google has gone mobile-first because statistics demand it so. Customers use their mobile devices more than their desktops.
69% of an individual’s media time is spent on a mobile device. We’re talking YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat; all the big guns are primarily accessed through a mobile device.
In fact, people use their mobile devices for Google searches 58% of the time. That equates to 28 billion more searches done on mobile devices, including Smartphones, laptops, and tablets, over searches done via desktops.
Those numbers are staggering. So it’s no wonder Google made this move. They want their customers to have a great experience, so they’ve put the emphasis on websites, which are mobile optimized.
They load quickly and are easy to use on tablets and smartphones
Now Google doesn’t just dominate search on desktop, but mobile as well. Google drives 96% of mobile search traffic, followed by Yahoo at 2% and Bing at 1%.
Okay, great. So Google is going mobile-first. What does that mean for me? Can a NJ mobile marketing agency help me?
I’m glad you asked.
It just so happens that our focus for the rest of this blog will be on the Tips and Tricks of Mobile Marketing in 6 areas.
- Optimize your site for Mobile Marketing
- Mobile Marketing and Page Speed
- Mobile Marketing and Social Media
- Mobile Marketing utilizes Email
- Mobile Marketing and Mobile Apps
- Mobile Marketing and Text Marketing
Optimize your site for Mobile Marketing
With all the changes that have occurred, some would advise to make sure that the same content you have on your desktop becomes available on your mobile device.
That’s sounds like double the work to me.
Better to just update your main site with a Responsive Web Design.
A Responsive Web Design has the ability to respond to a user’s platform and or device. So the screen size and orientation adapts to whether a user accesses the website via desktop or mobile device.
Now your website can look awesome with one design that works for your mobile devices, tablets, laptops and desktops.
57% of users won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. You have to make sure it looks good.
To increase your mobile search traffic, optimize for Google on smaller screen sizes. That means:
- Smaller banners
- Larger, more readable text
- Clean up ads
- Clean up JavaScript
- NO POP-UPS (Pop-ups suck).
“The advertising that is most resented by consumers is (shocker!) pop-up ads, with a 73% disapproval rating.”
– Emily Winsauer
Mobile Marketing and Page Speed
Because buffering is bad.
Ugh…. Hold on a second.
It’s still loading…..
Is anyone else having a panic attack?
Guys, when 40% of visitors will abandon a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, page speed becomes crucial. If someone lands on your site and it takes too long to load, they’re just gonna CLICK THE BACK BUTTON.
You don’t want them to CLICK THE BACK BUTTON. I don’t want them to CLICK THE BACK BUTTON. That’s soooooo bad.
Now that Google is mobile-first, when they see that people are backing out of your mobile site, it tells them your site sucks and that screws up your SEO.
Again, that’s very bad.
The best way to ensure that your site moves at lightning speed is to utilize Google AMP, Accelerated Mobile Pages.
“Google announced that it was giving brands the opportunity to AMP their websites. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is a content delivery network that helps pages load at lightning fast speed on mobile devices. It not only provides site visitors with a great user experience but helps push your site to the head of the class in Google search rankings.
Responsive design in 2018 means faster page loading time, speedy navigation and mobile-compatible usability. Your page needs to look great no matter how your audience reaches it.”
– CMDS
Mobile Marketing and Social Media
One of the biggest reasons why Google has gone mobile-first is because 80% of time spent on social media sites is done through a mobile device of some kind.
Social Media has all sorts of great ways of engaging an audience, but the focus for this blog is going to be on videos and specifically video from Stories.
Stories features that utilize images and video elements are huge for lead generation.
Eye-catching images that offer insight into your brand and behind the scene videos offer a unique point-of-view to potential customers.
They also serve to invite users into your space.
“The popularity of these features has dramatically altered the way in which audiences interact with businesses online. Stories opened the door so that you can share pictures or videos of your office workspace, your brewery, promotions your business is running, or the setup for an upcoming event, per instance–all this to boost audience engagement and build a stronger reputation. Small business out there today do not want to ignore the benefits of the social media story phenomenon.”
– Jim Sicord
Videos are also a great way to create brand awareness and position yourself as an expert.
People love videos. They’re super effective but, in the past, have been difficult to create.
The Stories Feature on social media platforms have made making videos for small businesses a no-brainer. Especially if you have a mobile device, like a smartphone. In fact, it’s never been easier to post a video to your story.
Have fun with it. When you have fun, it will come across in your video. People will be drawn to it and your audience will grow.
Plus, there’s nothing at stake. If the video sucks, it’ll be gone in 24 hours, anyway. A word of warning, though. Don’t set videos to autoplay like pop-up displays.
It’s disruptive, annoying, and downright rude. I usually vow to never use a product that plays before the YouTube video I’m attempting to watch.
Turns out, I’m not alone in my disdain. 82% of people report that they have closed a website due to an autoplaying video ad, and 51% of people say they actually have a greater dislike for products that are displayed in autoplaying video ads.
All that aside, videos are a huge part of mobile marketing and social media engagement. As potential users view and like your videos, take the opportunity to find a NJ mobile marketing agency to help you in creating a mailing list and enlarge your following.
Mobile Marketing utilizes Email
Most people almost always open their email, but there’s a name for unsolicited and unwanted email… it’s called SPAM.
And if you send out email without first obtaining the consent and permission of the receiver, then that’s what you’re sending… spam. Don’t spam. Spam is bad.
Still, mobile email has grown by 180% in the last year.
That means if you’re one of those people who think that email is dead… you’re dead wrong. Email has to be part of your mobile marketing plan.
A lot of the rules stated earlier with site design apply to email, too.
Emails need to look good. An open design that’s straight to the point is best. You don’t need any graphics or fancy HTML.
Your landing page and call-to-action buttons need to be easy to use on mobile. If you include a phone number, make sure it’s clickable so that you’re instantly reachable by phone.
Mobile Marketing and Mobile Apps
The biggest thing about a mobile app; it has to have a purpose.
So many companies jump right in and make an app before they think the process through and the result; an app that has little or no difference than the website.
It becomes no more than a fancy business card. In fact, it becomes less important than the actual site because it fails to bring value to the consumer.
Besides, it’s not crucial for every company to have an app. Some websites are sufficient without them.
A good mobile app can be vital and even more important to the user. Especially if it functions in a way that differs from the website.
For example: Linkedin’s mobile app makes job searches easier but it makes applying for jobs even easier.
Once a user sets up their account on Linkedin, they can apply for most jobs on the site with just the simple click of a button. It literally couldn’t be easier.
The Linkedin mobile app is useful and a mobile app needs to be useful.
Mobile Marketing and Text Marketing
The fact is, everyone opens their texts. So if your plan is just a blanket attack on text messaging, you’re going to have a high rate of messages being opened.
Of course, the greatest thing you’ll achieve is alienation.
Again, over 80% of people who receive unsolicited and unwanted texts grow into haters rather than customers. You can’t spam your potential leads. It just doesn’t work.
A text message on a mobile device is too intimate and too personal a space to become an invader.
However, if you’ve done the work and obtained permission and even had the user add themselves to your mailing list, then you’re in the best situation.
Notifications and updates are a great way to keep in touch with your customers, and audience. It can keep you in the forefront of their minds and keep them buying. It’s also a simple way to introduce incentives, like giveaways and free stuff based on how often a user buys. And let’s not forget coupons.
Another great example of Text Marketing is found in Google’s Nearby Notification technology. The other day I was in the mall and as I passed Hollister I received a notification on my phone.
When I looked, I found an opportunity to redeem a coupon and an invitation to come and shop… which is what I was at the mall for in the first place. A week later I saw a commercial on YouTube:
Google Nearby Notifications utilizes Bluetooth low energy beacon technology.
It was the same set up as a week earlier, except this time it wasn’t me in the mall, it was super models posing as teenagers.
They passed a store and Google Nearby Notifications instantly sent them a text because their bluetooth enabled mobile device was within 100 feet of the store.
The gorgeous and already fashionable teens checked their display screens on their phones.
The store offered them a coupon but in order to receive the savings they had to first share the business (this could be your business by the way) on Facebook.
The average person, today, has about 300 friends on Facebook; give or take.
10 mobile coupon redemptions and your business has now been seen by over 3000 people… Not bad.
Here are some other advantages to text marketing:
- It’s Trackable – It’s a relatively easy thing to trace who opens your SMS and then, further track what they accessed, what links they clicked or if your message was ignored, altogether.
- It’s Responsive – Add a built in ‘reply’ button to your message. That way you can get instant feedback and responses from your customer base.
- It’s Immediate – Text messaging is pretty much instant, from the moment it’s sent to the point in which it’s opened. In this way, it’s possible to send out hundreds, if not thousands of SMS’s and begin collecting data and impressions right away.
- It’s Personal – As stated earlier, a mobile device, especially a phone is inherently more personal than a computer. Take advantage of that by showing a bit of your own personality. You can offer a link to a story or even a video that tells a bit about your journey.
That’s some awesome mobile marketing.
Conclusion
“Recently Google made game-changing headlines when they announced that beginning July 2018, mobile page speed will now play a major factor in mobile search ranking. Yes, besides making plans for watching the fireworks this Independence Day, some SEO professionals will be also keeping a close eye on their organic listings. Time to understand what this really means for your website and for its organic ranking in mobile results.”
– CMDS
The race is on. The shot heard round the world has been fired and the report is still echoing in our ears.
How are you going to respond now that the Future is not just here…? It’s something you need to remember…
The future just happened.
Ready to run the race and optimize your site for mobile friendly marketing? Before you put on your running shoes, the professionals at CMDS, your go to NJ mobile marketing agency based in Colts Neck, can help. Contact the marketing professionals at 732-706-5555 to learn more.