Who else is sick of trying to access a website from a Blackberry, Android or iPhone only to be unable to view the site properly, due to the site not being mobile-friendly? Ugh! It is very annoying when that happens and it is happening way too often! It amazes me how many companies are missing the mark when it comes to mobile. Considering the fact that the number of Smartphone users continues to grow, more and more people will be utilizing their devices to access the internet. Companies ought to create a mobile friendly version of their website in order to serve their customers better. It is beyond frustrating for someone trying to find basic information such as your store hours, phone number, current promotions or directions, to not be able to get this information because you do not have a mobile-friendly version of your website.
A mobile website should be simplistic in nature and certainly does not need to be like your full website. The cost to design a mobile website is also relatively inexpensive.
The mobile website should contain basic information that people want or need to see. As an example, here is our mobile website, compared to our full website. As you can see, we have skinned the mobile site to have a similar color scheme to our regular site. We have then included just a few pages: Home, About Us, Contact us and Services. In addition, we have made our full website available from the mobile site, as well as included links to our Social Media channels.
There are no excuses. Too many people are forgoing their laptops and PC’s and simply using their Smartphone’s instead. You must have a mobile friendly version of your website immediately if not sooner. Go mobile or go home!
You have stepped up to the plate and made the (smart) decision to create a mobile friendly version of your website. That is great news, especially because the number of mobile users continues to rise and you ought to ensure that your website can accommodate this growing market segment. So, now all you have left to do is design the mobile site and you’re done, right? WRONG! Just when you think you have all of your bases are covered, you don’t. There are a few important factors to consider before building out your mobile site.
For starters, there are many different smartphones available for people to choose from. You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a smartphone? According to Wikipedia, “a smartphone is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary basic feature phone. Smartphones may be thought of as handheld computers integrated within a mobile phone.” Examples of the most commonly used smartphones are: iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc. Now you might be asking yourself, does it really matter which device a visitor uses to access my website? Won’t having a mobile version make for a positive user experience for every smartphone user? The answer is probably not, reason being, not all smartphones will render the same. This is why it’s hugely important to identify which devices your visitors are using to view your website. Having this knowledge will afford you the ability to tailor to the vast majority of your mobile audience. For example, when creating mobile websites for clients, our Design and Development teams utilize simulator testing, which will actually “simulate” how the site will render on each device. In addition, they will create custom versions to support the most popular devices accessing your site, as well as install JavaScript, which will detect which device is being used, then display the appropriate version.
Now, you might be asking yourself, how do I figure out which devices my visitors are using? This information can be easily found in your analytics program. If you utilize Google Analytics, click on Visitors (on the left navigation) then click on Mobile and finally, Mobile Devices. The results may astound you! Remember: having a mobile site is only half the battle; it should be optimized properly for your mobile audience, whatever that audience might be.
Is it possible that mobile marketers are neglecting individuals who don’t own a Smartphone? We all know by now that mobile marketing is the dawn of the new age and before we know it everyone will have a Smartphone, but until that day how do we make sure to capitalize on all mobile users?
Despite the extreme growth in Smartphones, standard text messaging is still the standard in the majority of mobile contracts. According to ABI Research, more than 7 trillion text messages will be sent around the world in 2011. Until the day that flip phones become extinct, the most effective way to obtain and carry on a two-way engagement via a mobile device with a large audience is through text messaging.
Successful SMS campaigns require strategic planning and consideration, but when executed properly you can achieve great success. SMS campaigns allow businesses to interact with customers on all different levels, whether it’s supplying them with advance notice of an upcoming promotion, a reminder of an event, or a special exclusive offer only for them, you can achieve instant communication on all levels.
The more you know about each of your consumers the more effectively you can target them. Ask your database for additional demographic information, personal interests, location and/or behavioral habits. This will make it easier for you to market to a person rather than just a number. Making sure the message is pertinent to your customer is key; otherwise you will become an annoyance and potentially lose fans.
Effectively segmenting out your audience and delivering them unique messages based on the profiles you created will help you most effectively capitalize on their needs and wants. Knowing your customers will help you maximize your marketing spend; create higher customer engagement and loyalty. Just be sure to monitor your frequency of messaging and avoid bombarding or overwhelming your customers.
975 South Federal Highway, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432
800.787.0497
ph: 561.620.9682
fx: 561.620.9684
info@morevisibility.com
