Beyond Mobile Ads: 3 Tips for Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

Beyond Mobile Ads:
Tips for Your Mobile
Marketing Strategy
3 In this report you will learn about extending your mobile marketing strategy beyond advertising to take advantage of the many ways consumers access content on mobile devices, including how to:1. Optimize your website for mobile devices2. Take advantage of mobile context3. Create richer mobile experiences
June 2011
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In the last twelve to eighteen months, marketing professionals have begun to realize the potential of mobile advertising. According to eMarketer, spending on mobile ads in the US jumped 79 percent from 2009 to 2010, and the research firm predicts spending will top $1 billion in 2011. However, even as the popularity of mobile advertising increases, it's important to remember that advertising alone is not a complete strategy for mobile marketing. To make the most of the mobile environment, marketers have to consider all of the ways consumers use mobile technology: to surf, share, look up information, and consume entertainment in the most convenient manner possible. Consumers will visit your site on a smartphone. They'll share a link to a coupon or a product photo with a quick text message or Twitter update. They'll catch up on new content while waiting at the bus stop. Engagement will happen during unexpected moments, and across multiple channels. It's in those moments and across those channels that marketers have to create an effective brand presence. Consider these three tips to upgrade your mobile marketing strategy and build closer ties with consumers on the go.
Tip #1: Optimize Your Website for Mobile DevicesIf you care about your web presence, you can't ignore how your website performs on mobile devices. It's the most basic requirement, but it's also easily overlooked in the flurry and excitement of exploring new mobile features and distribution avenues. To put things in perspective, consider what comScore found in 2010. By a slim margin, there are still more people using mobile browsers than there are using mobile apps.At a bare minimum, your site has to be accessible on the most popular mobile platforms. Apple devices still make up the largest percentage of smartphones and tablets, and that means you have to negotiate around the lack of Flash support. Any Flash content you have is not accessible on iPhones and iPads, and if you don't have an alternative method for sharing that content, consumers will abandon your site in search of other information sources. Even non-Flash content isn't always optimized for mobile delivery. The issue may be platform compatibility, or it may simply be that mobile bandwidth doesn't support the level of performance you need. If your site takes more than a handful of seconds to load, consumers won't care whose fault it is, only that they can't access the information they're looking for.
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From a presentation perspective, marketers have to consider how page layout affects the mobile site experience. The smaller screen size on a smartphone means more scrolling is required for users to find what they're looking for. By condensing page elements and simplifying menu structures you can help streamline the process and get visitors engaged more quickly. On the other hand, the larger display on a tablet device means a typical mobile site may not render as effectively as it would on a handset. You have to make sure that the right experience is automatically delivered to whatever device a consumer is using. Now that so many consumers have adjusted to a mobile lifestyle, expectations are high for the quality of site delivery on every device, in every environment, and at every moment.
To Do List1. Make Your Content Compatible - Ensure your website is accessible to mobile consumers. Rich-media elements, including Flash content, often have to be adapted for mobile audiences. Use your own in-house resources to optimize content for mobile access, or partner with a mobile delivery company to automate and simplify the process.
2. Raise Your Page Performance - Consumers have no patience for pages that load slowly. Wireless networks are not as fast as in-home broadband connections. Consider implementing site or media acceleration services to ensure the mobile experience you provide is up to par. Perf... [download for more]