Questions? Call us. Sales: 877.447.8938 | Support: 877.447.8936

Questions? Call us. Sales: 877.447.8938 | Support: 877.447.8936

Mobile Marketing is the Hottest Ticket in Town

Research has shown that by 2014, consumers will be using their mobile devices even more than their desktops and laptops.

What does that mean for you? You should be doing everything possible to cater to your customers’ preferences and current trends. If marketing is moving to mobile, by all means, move with it—or you could miss out on a lot of local business.

The great news is you have a mobile site that’s been professionally designed with smartphone users in mind. Here is some of the functionality that your mobile site offers:

• It displays your location and hours, plus links to your location using Google Maps.
• Users can click to call and click to email.
• Your social media icons are clearly displayed.
• Users are given a link to view your full website.
• It allows you to add products and promotions so users can see what you offer or submit a form to request an estimate.

The U.S. smartphone market just hit 50% market penetration and all signs point to this increasing. Of these smartphone users, two thirds are more likely to become a paying customer if your website is mobile friendly. If it’s not, over 60% will leave if they can’t find what they’re looking for within about five seconds.

How do you make sure that your mobile site is useful to your audience? Here are some best practices to follow:

Make your site thumb-friendly. Users are scrolling, swiping and selecting on touchscreen devices, mainly with their thumbs. Use large, centered buttons as opposed to links.

Keep content clear and visible. Content should fit on-screen and text should be readable without users having to pinch and zoom to enlarge.

Don’t be wordy. Any text on your mobile site should have bullet points and short sentences. Lengthy paragraphs are hard to read on a small screen.

Limit the number of photos and galleries. Simplicity is key to a mobile site. You don’t need to include your whole inventory—choose the products you want to feature (most popular, high profit margin, etc.) and link to your full website for the full menu.

These practices will help make your mobile site easy to use and provide an excellent experience for your customers. Remember, smartphone users are typically not on your mobile site to simply browse around. They’re looking for quick answers to their questions on the go.

One of the best things about mobile marketing is that it makes you easily accessible to your customers 24/7. With links to your social networks on your mobile site, you’re just a click away from your audience, any time of the day or night. Of course, this means that your online presence should be in tip-top shape and that your social media pages are designed to make a great first impression.

Jot this down—join Tawnya Starr at World Expo this August to learn more about how prospects are using social media to get information about you and how you can use it to increase revenue and customer loyalty. Tawnya will walk you through a 20-point checklist to see if your social media pages are up to snuff.

And, of course, you can always give me a ring with any questions you have about mobile marketing, social media or other ways to grow your business.