HOW TO ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

Learn how mobile devices are changing the way people find

information and engage with their favorite

businesses.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

Written and designed by Dewey Forbes

Dewey Forbes started Sales Marketing Associates, LLC to help small and mid-sized businesses grow using digital marketing technologies. Since its founding in 2011, Sales Marketing Associates has launched new businesses for its clients, produced award-winning video, and built growth strategies for small and medium-sized businesses as well as non-profit organizations throughout Connecticut. Dewey’s experience running marketing strategy, sales and manufacturing operations for international businesses brings broad perspective in understanding diverse client needs.

In collaboration with the Connecticut Small Business Development Center, Dewey educates businesses about inbound marketing for success. He also serves as a Director for the Milford Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Hamden Chamber of Commerce.

HOW TO ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH MOBILE MARKETING

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

CONTENT SUMMARY:

05New Ways to Reach Customers. Through mobile devices, mobile marketing targets potential customers with personalized messages, which take into account location and time, as well as other personal preferences and information.

09Device Responsive Design. Businesses that are looking to build a new site or rebuild an existing one should seriously consider a responsive design, especially if they hope to create a high quality experience on a wide array of mobile devices.

08Adaptive Mobile Design. Companies can reach mobile web users with a dedicated mobile site (.mobi extension), in addition to a standard website. Users are automatically directed to the site that is appropriate for their device.

10Design Considerations. Traditional computers, tablets, eReaders and smartphones all have different sized screens with unique screen size issues to consider. These concerns can be alleviated through thoughtful responsive website design.

04Introduction. Mobile traffic is skyrocketing. If businesses are going to survive in the new digital age, they will have to adapt to the mobile usage trends among internet users. The following chapters explain just how to do that.

12Maximizing Mobile Marketing Reach. Smartphone marketing is the most effective way to implement a proximity-marketing campaign. Customers can be notified of sales, watch short videos, even receive digital coupons on their phones.

13Maximizing Mobile SEO. To rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs), websites still need to have well written content and rich media elements on their pages.

14The Future of Mobile Marketing. If we do not adapt quickly, we will not survive in the digital world where the internet serves as primary means of networking and information gathering.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

INTRODUCTION

As internet usage grows worldwide, understanding how it’s being used is essential to capitalize on the business opportunities this rapid change presents. With the proliferation of mobile devices, businesses can use these changes to their advantage when developing an inbound marketing strategy.

To prosper in the new digital age, businesses must adapt to meet the mobile usage trends of internet users. The following chapters review various types of mobile marketing, mobile website design and some specific considerations for mobile campaigns.

Mobile traffic is skyrocketing. Through cell phone towers and satellites, people can now access the internet from anywhere and at any time. With current technology, people are using mobile devices at a staggering pace. Just a few statistics tell the story:

29% of adults have a tablet or eReader –vs. only 2% in 2009.

46% of American adults own a smartphone. 66% of all mobile device users access the

internet on their devices at least once a day.

3G mobile subscribers globally in 2012.source: GSA

5.7Billion

66%of smartphone users access

the internet at least once a day.source: Google

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

NEW WAYS TO REACH CUSTOMERS.

Mobile marketing includes any form of advertising that targets someone through a mobile device, such as a smart phone, eReader or tablet. In more advanced forms, it seeks to specifically target potential customers with personalized messages, which take into account location and time, as well as other personal information. Mobile marketing has developed to include a variety of communication modes:

SMS MARKETINGShort Message Service (SMS) marketing targets customers with brief, timely messages. Typically these messages are read within four minutes of being sent, which gives advertisers the ability to target their messages at a specific time. In order to avoid turning off potential customers, businesses should refrain from sending unwanted spam. At the very least, potential customers should have to opt in, before receiving any SMS communications.

MMS MARKETINGMultimedia message service (MMS) marketing is similar to SMS marketing, but it includes richer visual images. MMS includes images, audio and video, in addition to the text of SMS. With MMS, can reach customers using a rich media experience.

96% research products and services on a smartphone.source: Google

Mobile video was 51% of total traffic in 2012.source: Cisco VNI

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

NEW WAYS TO REACH CUSTOMERS CONTINUED…

PUSH NOTIFICATIONSPush notifications are messages that appear on the top of mobile user’s screens. Since the user is notified of new messages automatically, the message is more likely to be read. At the same time, unwanted messages that interrupt mobile internet users may annoy some customers.

MOBILE WEB MARKETINGMobile web marketing is online advertising specifically targeted towards mobile users. Through your local marketing company, you can target mobile devices exclusively. These ads take up a larger percentage of the screen than online ads viewed through a traditional monitor so they tend to have a higher click-through rate (CTR) than generic web marketing campaigns.

QR CODESQuick Response (QR) code is a matrix grid code that functions similarly to a UPC code. It can be placed anywhere, including on signs, magazine pages, exhibits, store windows , etc. When people take a picture of the grid with their phone’s QR reader, they are taken to a web page . Companies can capitalize on an impulse with these and bring people to their website, display special offers, and exchange exclusive information.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

PROXIMITY MARKETINGProximity marketing is still developing as a mobile marketing strategy and it has shown great potential. In proximity marketing, advertisements, such as coupons and sales notifications, are sent to mobile users near a specific location. When combined with personalized information, these have a high potential conversion factor.

THE ULTIMATE GOAL: CONVERSION THROUGH A WEBSITEThe goal of all these mobile marketing techniques is to attract, engage & convert prospects into customers that result in a sale of the product or service offered by your company. The actual conversion varies from business to business and campaign to campaign. Proximity marketing aims to bring a user from a virtual message to a physical location, while QR codes encourage a user to visit a website from their physical location. In every case, mobile marketing puts your website at the heart of any mobile advertising strategy. The following chapters will cover how to design a website that complements a mobile marketing strategy and converts prospects into purchasing customers.

NEW WAYS TO REACH CUSTOMERS CONTINUED…

MOBILE DESIGN BENEFITS: Buttons are thumb-friendly. Single click commands. Mobile-optimized sites are easy to view on a small screen. Pages load faster using less bandwidth.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

When designing a website, companies are faced with the challenge of reaching both people who access the internet through a traditional computer and mobile web users. There are two ways businesses can go about reaching these people. One solution uses two separate sites: a standard website and a mobile website. The other solution includes only one, responsive website.

CREATING A SEPARATE MOBILE WEBSITEThe initial solution developed for reaching people on their mobile devices was to create a mobile site (.mobi extension), in addition to a standard website. One of these sites has a .com, .net, .org or similar extension, and the other would have .mobi as its extension. Customers do not have to worry about typing in the .mobiextension if they are using a smartphone or eReader. Users are automatically directed to the site that is appropriate for their device. This was the initial solution web developers created for reaching customers through mobile devices, and many companies quickly adopted it. BMW, Ferrari and ESPN are just a few of the major companies that have had a .mobi website.

While this solution is effective, it has several drawbacks. First, webmasters must maintain two separate sites. Second, in the current highly competitive search engine optimization (SEO) environment, it is easier to promote one site than two. Finally, a .mobi site effectively reaches smartphone users, but it fails to fully capitalize on the possibilities presented by tablet-sized screens.

ADAPTIVE DESIGN DELIVERS A SMARTPHONE EXPERIENCE

.MOBI DRAWBACKS: Webmasters maintain 2 websites. SEO work done on 2 websites. .mobi only works on smartphones.

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MOBILE MARKETING

CREATING A RESPONSIVE WEBSITEThe current trends among web designers and developers is to create a responsive website, rather than two separate sites. Some examples of responsive websites include Adobe, Wikipedia and Starbucks. A responsive website is one that adjusts the layout of each of its web pages according to the size of the screen being used.

As the devices used to view a responsive website become smaller, items that were side-by-side on the page can be placed above and below each other. In some cases (i.e. Wikipedia), images disappear if the window is too small. With a responsive website, viewers only need to scroll vertically, instead of both vertically and horizontally. A responsive website addresses all of the disadvantages of the separate mobile site.

Responsive designs have one drawback. Because the field of responsive website design is still growing, there are a limited number of pre-made designs people can use. For instance, companies that build skins for WordPress still have more non-responsive designs available than responsive ones. As the demand for responsive skins grows, more designs will become available in this format. Businesses that are looking to build a new site or rebuild an existing one should seriously consider a responsive design if they hope to reach mobile internet users.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN DELIVERS A UNIFIED EXPERIENCE

RESPONSIVE DESIGN: Universally consistent experience Webmasters maintain one site. Works on all devices.

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MOBILE MARKETING

When designing a responsive website for mobile marketing, it’s important to consider that some customers will access the site through traditional computers that have full-size screens. Although internet usage among mobile users is growing rapidly, many people also use a desktop or laptop. Traditional computers, tablets, eReaders and smartphones all have different sized screens with unique issues for web designers to consider. A wide array of devices can best be accommodated through a single responsive website.

DESIGNING FOR THE LARGE SCREENLarge monitors have a lot of space websites can use to draw in potential customers. Laptop screens come as large as 17 in., and some desktop monitors measure 24 in. or more. The most successful website designs will utilize screen real estate by:

Including large imagesPeople tend to focus on image, or videos, when looking at websites. Even though there are hundreds or thousands of words on a web page, potential customers will primarily look at the visual aspects of a website first.

Spacing TextUsing all of the available space on a large monitor is not equivalent to cramming a webpage full of text and images. White space plays a crucial role in website design, and it must be used effectively. The best designs space text out with subheadings, bullet points and space between paragraphs.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

TOP 3 DESIGN CONCERNS: Pass the 3-second test Use relevant, high-quality images Keep pages clean & uncluttered

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MOBILE MARKETING

DESIGNING FOR THE SMALL SCREENOn small screens, such as those of smartphones, there is very little space to use. Initially this may seem to be a disadvantage. But with a little design foresight, we can create a rich user experience on both the smartphone screen as well as a full size screen. Effective design considerations are:

Using simple imagesA smartphone’s screen is not large enough to show the detail of a picture in the same way as a 21 in. monitor. Since fine details are lost on mobile devices, simple images work best.

Strategically placing calls to action Because mobile users only see a small portion of the webpage at any one time, we must select what our visitors see first. To increase conversion rates, call-to-action items work best if designed to be “thumb-friendly”.

DESIGNING FOR ALL SCREENSIncluding elements that appeal on both large and small screens requires thought and planning for images to display properly on any size screen.Images and video format will require special attention to maximize visibility. Relatively high resolutions can be achieved with simple designs composed of a few main elements on each page. When planning the layout, text should always be spaced carefully with a clear call-to-action following a well developed marketing strategy.

RESPONSIVE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

MORE DESIGN CONCERNS: Simple, clean design Keep buttons “thumb-friendly”. Avoid long scrolling content.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

SMARTPHONE MARKETINGWhen evaluating a mobile marketing strategy, it’s important to consider the fact that mobile browsing activity usually occurs in short bursts of activity. People tend to use mobile devices when they have moments of time between other activities whether at home, at work or on the go. With 89% of smartphone owners using their phones while shopping, proximity marketing can be particularly effective at reaching people when they’re mobile. Customers can be notified of sales, watch short promotional videos, even receive digital coupons on their phones. At the same time, these messages must be brief, because people may only glance briefly at websites on their smartphones.

VIDEO MARKETINGVideo marketing is a crucial aspect of any online marketing campaign. With the recent adoption of HTML5 coding, video can be viewed consistently across all devices. Mobile Video campaigns generally have special considerations:

Video marketing is perhaps the most effective way to be found in mobile searchand attract an audience to your website.

Video format provides uniquely engaging content if produced in a high quality, story-telling style.

Videos between 30-90 seconds long get the most play on the web. On mobile devices, shorter is better.

Marketing Videos are assets that can generate leads around the clock. So invest in high-quality videos with special attention to lighting and sound.

MAXIMIZING YOUR MOBILE MARKETING REACH

89% use smartphoneswhile shopping in store.Source: Nielsen Smartphone Analytics

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MOBILE MARKETING

CONTENT MARKETINGDespite all of the advancements in internet usage and mobile marketing, the old adage still rings true: Content is King. Images and videos engage users and the search engines give extra weight to these rich media elements. Social media can help to showcase this content by promoting trending items. To rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs), websites still need to have well-written content on their pages.

MOBILE SEODespite all of the unique attributes of mobile marketing, mobile SEO is, at its essence, similar to traditional SEO. There are some unique ways we can position a mobile site in the SERPs:

Engage customers at the business’s physical location through social media such as Foursquare or Google Places reviews.

Focus on ranking well in localized SERPs. Focus on shorter keywords, which are easier

for people to type into a phone.

MAXIMIZING MOBILE SEO

CONTENT CREATION TIPS: Using alt-image & meta

elements. Summarizing videos or

posting transcripts of the audio.

Allow viewer comments. Contextual backlinks to

related content.

ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS WITH

MOBILE MARKETING

Mobile marketing is still a developing field. Within the past few years, internet usage on mobile devices has exploded. While online marketing and SEO experts are adapting to the changes, mobile internet usage is in a perpetual state of change. The future of mobile marketing is limited only by the human imagination.

Social Media and responsive sites design will play a major role in the future of the internet. In 2011 and 2012, Google’s Panda and Penguin search algorithms dramatically changed the dynamics of online marketing by emphasizing high quality results that didn’t “game” search results. This put even greater emphasis on quality content as a high performance SEO tool.

As inbound marketing displaces traditional marketing methods, businesses are wise to invest in responsive websites and mobile marketing campaigns. If we do not adapt quickly, we will not survive in the digital world where the internet serves as the primary means of information gathering. When evaluating a digital marketing strategy, one thing is certain, changes in technology, platforms and SEO are the norm. To remain competitive, capitalizing on current mobile marketing trends will improve our reach and engage prospective customers and ultimately, driving more business in the door.

THE FUTURE OF MOBILE MARKETING

HOW DOES INBOUND MARKETING WORK?

[ it’s like dating ] “You don't ask someone to marry you on the first

date. People get kind of freaked out when you do that. You get to know each

other first, then introduce the friends, then the family, and then, once you know

the whole package looks good, you put a ring on it.” - Corey Eridon, HubSpot

[ it just makes sense ] “selling to people who actually want to hear

from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.”- Seth Godin

MARKETING AUTOMATIONA well-crafted inbound marketing solution works around the clock so you can run your business, or get a little more sleep.

BLOG & PR DISTRUBUTIONBlogging not only distributes your expertise and offers, but it drives SEO intelligently and organically.

SOCIAL MEDIAEngage with a broader audience through the right social media channels and leverage the vast networks of trusted relationships.

CONTENT CREATIONNothing engages your audience better than educational content such as how-to videos, live webinars, eBooks, and whitepapers.

RETURN ON INVESTMENTWith on-demand analytics, you’ll know where your inbound leads are coming from and how to prime them for conversion to customers.

LEAD GENERATIONOur systematic methodology transforms your marketing efforts into a well-orchestrated lead generation engine that never stops.