Mobile Marketing Tips

Did you know that mobile marketing can increase your sales up to 20%? Mobile devices have entered the market in 2013 stronger than ever. It is estimated that there are 5.9 users of smartphones and other mobile devices in the world already, which amounts to 87% of the world population.

With around 1.5 billion users, mobile websites are also something to consider. China, the United States or India are some of the countries with a higher smartphone penetration rate, and mobile websites creation is a growing market. 70% of users are more inclined to purchasing products and services from websites that are optimized for mobile, while a similar percentage gets frustrated when they are not or, what’s worse, they turn to the competition for that same product or service.

In the same way, having a mobile-optimized mobile version of your website can make activity and sales on your website improve. 7 out of 10 businesses have already confirmed that this is true, and the rest are getting up to speed to implement a good mobile marketing strategy that can help them achieve the same results.

Tablets are also something to consider when creating a mobile marketing strategy. More than 14% of people in Europe own a tablet, and these figures go even further up if we look at people between 18 and 24, reaching 25%. These figures only show that smartphones, tablets, and all other kinds of mobile devices are a trend that is here to stay, and highlight the need to adapt to mobile strategies in order to provide consumers what they are looking for.

Mobile Marketing Tips for Small Business

So how can small, local businesses take advantage of these facts? Here are three easy steps that they can follow which will help them make the most of mobile marketing while spending less time managing marketing tools.

• Get discovered: make sure customers can find you on mobile search engines and apps. More people use their mobile phones to surf the internet every day, and local searches are preferred by mobile users. 88% of consumers who search for a local business on their mobile device, act within 24 hours (phoning, going to that business or shopping online). So you want to make sure they find you when they perform the search. But 50% of local searches are carried out outside of search engines. Mobile maps and directories are an important part of your SEO when it comes to local searches. Here are some tips to help you optimize your business for local searches:
  • • Run a directory report. Some companies like LocalVox can help you see whether you are listed on the main directories, so that you can know which areas you need to put your efforts in.
      
  • • Create a Google+Local  page and otimize it including the categories where you want to appear, using keywords and descriptions to improve SEO.
      
  • Create your Yelppage too, and optimize it for SEO in the same way as above. Bear in mind that Yelp and Google+Local reviews are an important marketing tool.
    
• Identify where your customers come from and target them. Targeted advertising is more cost effective. By identifying where your most likely customers come from and implementing a marketing strategy aimed especifically at them, you will be ensuring that it is more effective and less expensive than a broader, general marketing strategy. In the case of local businesses, customers are frequently people living, working and playing in the area surrounding the business. But most small businesses aren’t prepared for mobile ad targeting. Mobile targeting needs to be integrated within a greater strategy in order to leverage mobile redemptions. It’s not only about the clicks –emails and social follows are important as well, as they provide longer term value. Also, mobile marketing is cheaper than traditional marketing (it costs 47% less on average). You can use coupons with offers that the users need to redeem, collect email addresses to inform users of future offers, or any other mobile marketing strategy.
• Mobile optimization is important. 60% of local businesses have websites, but 40% of those websites don’t even include a phone number on them, let alone be mobile optimized. Having a website that is efficiently displayed on consumers’ mobile phones means that these consumers will be comfortable visiting it, which will in turn mean a higher interaction and conversion for the business. However, only 6% of local business websites have a mobile-optimized website. This is expected to grow up to a 20% this year, in the meanwhile local businesses are losing sales due to this lack of optimization. A mobile website means an improved local search engine optimization (SEO), and provides a better user experience, which will ensure that those users return to it on future searches. It also gives your business a professional look, which is always good. Most business owners are reluctant when it comes to creating their mobile website, but they need to know that it doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. There are a few options:
  • Creating a new website from scratch. You can create one single website that adapts to all kinds of devices (smartphones, tablets, smartTVs, etc.) using one single set of code, thanks to the responsive web design technology. This way, your website will be optimized for all devices.
  • If you already have a desktop website and only need the mobile version of it, you can choose to develop a mobile website with a tool like Onbile . This doesn’t mean that you will have two separate websites: you can easily insert a redirect code, so that browsers identify whether the user is accessing it from a desktop computer or from a mobile device, and redirect the user accordingly. This will ensure you mobile search engine optimization, and work to your advantage on marketing your business.

By : Helena