79% of UK adults now use a smartphone. (Finder.com)
People are now using their phones for pretty much everything. Talking to friends on social media, watching videos, getting directions, shopping, reading reviews – the list goes on.
Mobile is now the norm, and it’s driving huge changes in consumer behaviour. The number of shoppers who choose to make a purchase using their mobile phone is getting higher every year. In fact, mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. (Statista)
The data proves that having a mobile-first marketing approach is more than important than ever.
In this post, we’ll show you how you can implement a successful mobile-first strategy.
But first… What is a mobile-first strategy?
In the past, mobile design has been an afterthought, but now most companies are designing for mobile-first.
As the name says, having a mobile-first strategy means designing an online experience for mobile before designing it for the desktop.
A mobile-first strategy doesn’t just mean having a responsive website and a mobile app. You need to be thinking about the mobile experience as a whole, and how your customers will interact with it from their device.
Don’t get left behind. If your business isn’t already prioritising a mobile-first strategy, now’s the time to start.
How to implement a successful mobile-first strategy
Make the most of your mobile audience with these 5 simple steps:
1. Have a mobile-friendly website
Having a mobile-first strategy goes beyond having a responsive website. Being able to fit everything on a smaller screen doesn’t mean you’ve gotten away with it.
Google is getting pretty serious about lowering the ranking of sites which aren’t easily viewed and navigated on mobile phones.
Make sure your site is optimised for mobile viewing, and you’ll have a higher conversion rate. Luckily, most website templates are responsive, so they can adapt to whichever device it’s being accessed on.
It’s also crucial to make sure your website loads quickly. And I mean quickly.
The average user won’t have time to wait around for the page to load. 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. Speed. Is. Key.
Psst – Google actually provides an online mobile-friendly test to see how your website stacks up. Thank me later!
2. Use less text – avoid information overload
If you want to win with your mobile-first strategy, then think simple. Less is more!
Google favours pages with minimal text, larger font sizes, and clean images.
Get straight to the point with your content and stick to a couple of sentences per paragraph. Use bullet points, numbered lists, and highlight key points to keep your content scannable, and convey a large amount of information quickly.
Your mobile viewers want to achieve their tasks and meet their informational needs as quickly as possible.
If you do need to include important information but don’t want your reader to get bored, then include expandable content areas. This way, the user can click if they want to find out more, rather than scrolling for ages to find it.
Remember – make sure at least some of your content is above the fold. Show your audience that there’s a good reason to scroll.
3. Focus on video
Video is quickly becoming the weapon of choice for all sorts of business’ mobile-first marketing strategies.
Most consumers now want companies to incorporate video into their marketing strategy. 66% of people would prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product, rather than reading about it. (Wyzowl)
Include videos on your website, across your social channels and your company blog to boost engagement. Facebook’s algorithm favours video content that is posted directly on their platform.
People can now watch pretty much anything at any time on their mobile phones, so make sure your videos are short, they grab the viewer’s attention and they’re relevant straight away.
When preparing video content, make sure you prioritise the visual message over a verbal one, and make sure you include subtitles.
4. Don’t forget about your social media posts
Of course, you need to optimise your website and your email marketing campaigns for this mobile-first era, but don’t forget how much traffic can be gained from well-targeted social media campaigns.
Social media is a great place to start with your mobile-first strategy. Loads of people use their smartphones to access their social media.
Choose social channels that your audience engages on. Users love when brands interact on social media and share their user-generated content. The more you understand your followers, the better you’ll be able to create campaigns that they want to engage with.
5. Make sure all your emails are mobile-friendly
With a simple swipe of the finger, it’s easier than ever to delete an email. That’s why it’s essential to make sure that your emails translate well.
Nothing will make a subscriber look for an exit option quicker than an email that’s distorted and difficult to read.
Consider the fact that mobile screens are obviously smaller, and less of your subject lines will be viewable.
When your emails display well on a mobile, your email rates will improve.
Using an email marketing platform will tell you the devices which your emails are being viewed on. If you’re a Wired Plus user, you’ll also have access to loads of fully responsive templates which will look great on any device!
Will your business thrive in the mobile-first world?
It’s more than likely that most of your customers engage with your communications from their smartphones.
Mobile phones aren’t going anywhere, so neither is mobile marketing. It’s essential that you can deliver more personalised experiences to gain new customers and hold onto your loyal ones.
It’ll take some work, but if you take it one step at a time, you’ll have a killer mobile presence before you know it.
Want to power up your marketing strategy? Wired Plus can help.
