In 2015, the prevalence of mobile device usage for Internet browsing was the talk of the web. This was in part because mobile browsing exceeded desktop browsing for the first time in the United States—with 51% of the total time spent on the Internet occurring on smartphones and tablets and only 42% on desktop and laptop computers.This wasn’t a huge surprise, as mobile device usage has been climbing for several years. But many marketers took serious notice and started developing robust mobile marketing strategies. While some of these marketers have worked through mobile missteps to solidify their strategies, they made no mistake about this: the mobile world can no longer be ignored.It’s 2016, after all.If you’ve been dragging your feet on getting in the mobile game, it’s time to pick them up. And fast. But where do you start? Here are a few quick tips to kickoff your mobile marketing:
#1: Create an active social media presence.
Your first mobile marketing step should be to get your company on social media. If there is anything that consumers consistently access from their mobile phones, it’s a social network. In this age of hyperconnectivity, many of us hop on Facebook or Twitter to fill idle time—such as waiting in line or sitting at the doctor’s office.If you’re not sure you can manage all the big players (like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), start with one. Facebook is the top global mobile app by usage, and almost half of its users access the social media site exclusively on a mobile device—so that’s a good place to start as you ramp up your mobile marketing.
Whether you choose to focus on one network or a few, it’s important to stay active. Share your own engaging content as well as relevant content from other businesses. Share images of your workspace to humanize your company. Run an incentivized contest. Comment on relevant articles posted by others. Stay in the game!
#2: Send out mobile-friendly emails.
Get this: 67% of emails are first opened on a mobile device. That means the first glance at roughly two-thirds of your business’s emails takes place on a condensed screen. If you don’t want users to send your correspondence to the trash immediately, your messages need to be tailored for mobile viewing. Crafting mobile-friendly emails is one of the most important mobile marketing strategies. Here are some ways to shape up your messages:
- Use short subject lines that draw readers in with a few compelling words.
- Keep the body of the emails clean and simple. Avoid packing them with images that slow down load time or mountains of text that require extensive scrolling.
- Include clear headings so users can quickly skim for main points.
- Make your calls to action (CTAs) prominent so readers can see them at a glance and easily click them from a small screen.
- Make all links clickable to cut down on user effort (bonus if events can be clicked and automatically added to a calendar).
#3: Optimize online forms for mobile users.
Online forms are a key part of any digital marketing strategy. You use them to capture visitor information via email subscriptions, content downloads, and event registrations. But if your forms aren’t optimized for mobile submission, you might be missing out on a lot of quality leads as users abandon the forms.Luckily, there are several steps you can take to turn your forms into mobile marketing heroes:
- Make sure the forms are simple and the CTAs are apparent.
- Include only as many fields as absolutely necessary, and hide irrelevant fields using Conditional Logic—which can give you a 50% conversion boost.
- Allow users to automatically populate their contact information using features like Social Autofill, which can increase submissions by 189%!
- Use mobile-friendly fields like single-select radio buttons or responsive dropdown lists.
Formstack can help you up your mobile marketing game with robust form conversion features, including integrations with email marketing platforms and social media sites. Want to see for yourself how our product can help you? Click here to sign up for a 14-day free trial.
