We love our smartphones and tablets. Usage of both devices has grown rapidly with people using their mobile devices more than their laptops. Given the fact that people are finding and consuming more content on tablets and smartphones, our inbound marketing tactics, specifically content marketing and search engine optimization, must support those devices seamlessly.
According to Google, if someone has a positive mobile experience when interacting with your brand, 89% of people are likely to recommend a brand. But if the experience is negative, 46% say they would not purchase from a brand again.
Seems rather harsh. But mobile users have expectations about the experience that should be delivered when viewing a web property from their mobile device.
What do you do when:
- Web pages are slow to load
- Website is not designed for smartphones
- Navigation is difficult to use
- Content is difficult to read
You probably go elsewhere to find what you are looking for.
Given that an increasing number of visitors are accessing your website from a mobile device, how do you give them a great experience so they stay, consume your content and build trust in your brand?
Content Marketing to Support Mobile Users
Implementing content marketing that effectively supports mobile can help you increase your conversions of visitors to leads. Consider implementing the following mobile content marketing tips to ensure mobile users can easily find and consume your content.
Convert your website to WordPress using a responsive theme
If you haven’t done this already, your website should be responsive. If your website is already using WordPress as a content management system, your first initiative needs to ready the hub of your online presence for mobile users. A responsive theme, as recommended by Google, turns your entire website, including your landing pages, into a mobile oasis for your marketing campaigns. Content gets formatted specifically for each device. Now your content is accessible across all devices providing a similar positive experience.
Responsive design is also a huge benefit to small businesses. A responsive website:
- Eliminates the need for a separate mobile website.
- Reduces your costs for development and maintenance.
- Eliminates errors when updating the content because the same content is used across all devices.
There are many free and premium WordPress themes from which to choose. My theme framework recommendations based on experience are GeneratePress and SiteOrigin Vantage. Both offer many design features through the WordPress dashboard. Plus I use SiteOrigin’s Page Builder on both themes to make designing a quality experience easier.
Review your SEO to Incorporate Mobile SEO Best Practices
If you have already optimized your website for increased visibility, you should be in good shape for mobile search. Mobile SEO has best practices that ensure those using touch screens can search and find your business easily.
The basics – responsive design, short keyword phrases and getting listed on sites mobile users frequent – are still important activities for mobile SEO. The key is to be where mobile users search and that your web presence is easily accessible.
But now, mobile users are launching searches using voice search. And voice search is changing the way Google handles search queries and marketers handle SEO. You need to think about what the user intends to do when they search.
If someone searches for “change a tire”, are they looking for content on how to change a tire or are they stuck somewhere with a flat tire and needs a service to change a tire. Most likely using voice search, they will say “local service to change a tire”. Keep this in mind when writing content. Be more specific in your choice of keyword phrases and the intent of the person searching.
Ensure your email marketing service supports mobile
Those who have already opted into your email list may already be reading your eNewsletter or blog posts on their mobile device. Make sure you review your email on your mobile devices when you are testing the campaign to ensure it works as expected.
Also, investigate how your email service provide supports mobile devices and that it can be easily read whether they are on your website or reading it via email.
Given the importance of your content marketing activities, be creative on where and how you get people to opt-in to your list so you can provide them with the content they seek. Add your signup form to your Facebook Page. Use creative offers offline to encourage signups online.
Write your content for mobile first
When people speak about mobile first, it’s not to ignore those on a desktop. It’s about creating a better experience for all users, but especially those consuming your content on a smaller device.
- Shorten your headlines to ensure the benefit of reading it is evident
- Break your content into shorter paragraphs and use heading and subheadings throughout.
- Use a larger font on your website.
- Use bullets and white space so people can skim.
- Proofread your content and eliminate unnecessary content.
Regardless of which platform the visitor is using to read your content, it has to offer value. Rich, informative content will keep your target reader engaged. When you have written the content that concisely answers the questions your customers want answered, then remember to structure the content for those on mobile devices.
Mobile is another marketing channel, not just a new technology
Marketing on the mobile channel can be quite complicated depending on what you are trying to accomplish. There are many strategies that can be used to reach your targeted buyer via their mobile device. If you want to implement mobile marketing, you need to develop a separate marketing plan specifically for mobile to ensure you can be effective.
But a good place to start is getting your mobile content marketing strategy implemented properly.
- Write in-depth content to inform and educate your readers.
- Update your website to a responsive design.
- Ensure your email campaigns properly support mobile.
- Confirm that your content is easily read on a smartphone.
Once this is in place, you can now define other marketing strategies to reach your mobile customer more easily. If you keep mobile support in mind whenever you consider new marketing campaigns, you will be in a better position than your competitors.
How are you incorporating mobile marketing into your overall marketing strategy?