How Small Business can Capitalize on the Mobile Marketing Phenomenon

By Ron Goldblatt, Owner/Founder NorthShore Loyalty

We are now in a mobile-first era, with a significantly higher time spent per adult with mobile digital media than with traditional desktop and laptop media. According to findings from the latest KPCB mobile technology trends by Mary Meeker, the average adult in the US spends roughly 2.8 hours on his or her smartphone or tablet, which is 24 minutes more compared to the user’s desktop usage.

Businesses should learn how to capitalize on the mobile marketing phenomenon and leverage it to its maximum potential. After all, “71% of marketers believe mobile marketing is core to their business,” discovered a marketing survey from Salesforce. The same survey also found out that 68% of companies have already integrated mobile marketing into their overall marketing strategy.

Clearly, the race to the top has already begun, and it’s just a matter of time before winners will be separated from losers, especially when it comes to small businesses. So, how can you hop on board of this accelerating train and get your fair share of mobile customers? A good start is by implementing the following 3 mobile marketing strategies and key principles.

1. Strive to Give Your Users Valuable Content in a Timely Way

It’s a known fact that mobile users are quick to separate truly valuable content from the soulless PR chatter that clutters social media networks and news feeds. “Valuable content is key to helping your target buyer find you in search results online,” explains an article from IDG Research Services, a provider of custom quantitative research.

Some recommend optimizing for “micro-moments.” What are these micro-moments? They are fragmented interactions that occur spontaneously and instantaneously multiple times throughout the day. For example, a mobile user might search “Makita versus DeWalt” while she’s shopping for a new cordless drill. These I-want-to-know moments, I-want-to-go moments, I-want-to-do moments, and I-want-to-buy moments are what drives in the most visitors.

If you can provide the users with relevant results in a timely manner, you have a great chance to influence the user’s opinion. According to The 2014 Traveler's Road to Decision, “One in 10 of those [who consult their phones while they're standing in a store deciding which product to buy] end up buying a different product than they had planned.”

2. Learn How to Optimize for Search Engines and Use Proper Keywords

Keyword optimization and search engine optimization, in general, are not just for content marketing. The same strategies can be successfully used for mobile marketing, but one should keep in mind that mobile visitors are much more location-focused than their desktop counterparts. That’s why it’s paramount to always include the local area as well as your keywords.

“Statistics indicate that the majority of shopping occurs within a 10-mile radius of a consumer’s home,” states Brett Relander from Entrepreneur. Findings like this led to the invention of hyper-local marketing, which is a highly targeted form of digital marketing based on a specific geographic area or location. If you are a small business, instead of spreading yourself thin over a large area, it’s usually wiser to put all your focus into a single area. The results can be significant, as “88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours,” explains Nectafy.

3. Be Ready for All Mobile Visitors

“57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site,” according to CMS Report, and “83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important,” says Wolfgang Jaegel. Such high numbers and their significance simply can’t be taken for granted.

The difficult part is being ready for all mobile visitors, since they can come from vastly different devices. Your site should work just as well on the latest flagship device from Google as it does on a budget smartphone from China. This takes the importance of testing to a whole new level.

Luckily for you, there are plenty of ways how you can analyze your site for free, such as Mobile-Friendly Test or Varvy SEO, and for a very affordable price. The latter includes crowdsourcing Internet marketplaces, like Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Services like MTurk give you access to a global, on-demand, 24 x 7 workforce and allow you to get thousands of results in minutes.

Conclusion

Capitalizing on the mobile marketing phenomenon isn’t as difficult as it may initially appear. All it takes is some preliminary planning and the right mobile marketing strategy. Our list of top 3 mobile marketing strategies gives you plenty of good options you can start off on the right foot. 

NorthShore Loyalty can analyze your website on three basic principles. Is your website mobile friendly, are using the correct keywords and meta tags and have you properly linked your social media efforts to your web site. Contact us at info@northshoreloyalty.com for more information.