3 Ways to Get Results from Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

Go after the Low-hanging Fruit

You already know that mobile is important.

You’ve probably already started some mobile initiatives and are considering beefing up your long-term mobile marketing strategy.

But we’re already halfway through 2014, and if you want to start seeing real results before the end of the year, then you need to act fast.

The best place to start is with the “low-hanging fruit” – these are tactics that you can easily incorporate into your existing mobile marketing game plan, require minimal investment and offer a great return.

With that in mind, here are 3 easy ways to get quick results from your mobile marketing strategy in 2014.

#3: Optimize Your Mobile Marketing Strategy for Tablets

When we think about mobile marketing, usually our first thought is mobile phones. From creating mobile websites and applications, to text and SMS messaging, we immediately turn to marketing initiatives that are directed toward a user’s phone.

As a result, we often forget about tablet users – and that’s a big mistake.

That’s because tablet usage is growing exponentially, especially when compared to how PC usage has grown in the past. Now, more tablets are being shipped to customers than PCs.

And these aren’t the same Apple fans you’re used to dealing with, either. Tablet usage is now moving into non-traditional audiences, including 55+ seniors, teachers, and students at educational institutions, and more.

Although your current web analytics might show that only 3-5% of web visitors originate from a tablet device, this number is sure to increase as tablet shipments continue to gain momentum. So you need to be ready.

But remember, it’s not just about the quantity of tablet usage - think about who’s behind the device. Tablet users are an ideal audience to target with your digital message because they are actively engaging with businesses online. Plus, they are much more likely to research products and make mobile commerce purchases.

Are you convinced yet?

Optimizing your mobile marketing strategy for tablet users is something you can quickly integrate into your existing strategy.

Here’s how:

1. Start with responsive website design. Forget about mobile websites and applications that alienate tablet users, and instead opt for one website, and one experience for all users – regardless of the device they use.
2. It’s not just enough to have a responsive website. Every interaction with your customer needs to be seamless across all devices – especially when you are trying to convert visitors into leads and sales. That means all of your campaign landing pages and microsites should be responsive, too.
3. Make sure to test and emulate the in-tablet experience. While testing, don’t forget to check different devices (iPad, Kindle, etc.), browsers (IE, Safari, Firefox, etc.) operating systems (OSX, Android, Windows, etc.) and layouts (horizontal and vertical).
4. Use Google Analytics’ On Page Analytics feature to determine what content is “Above The Fold” on tablets, and make sure your calls to action are visible.
5. Continually research tablet and mobile browsing patterns, key landing pages and key channels. Use your findings to improve your initiatives.

There are also other interesting ways to optimize your marketing initiatives for tablets – including e-commerce, educational apps and content, video, device-targeted pay-per-click campaigns, and more.

#2: Double Down on Mobile Video Streaming

We all know that video is important for our digital marketing strategy. It’s great for search engine optimization, and it creates a rich and engaging experience for our audience.

But did you know that a growing portion of video streamed is mobile?

In fact, mobile video is experiencing a 100% growth rate, year over year, and it is currently closing in at 22% of all video viewed online

Both mobile and tablet users are very comfortable with video streaming. It’s something they have come to expect from the digital experience. So, optimized video in your mobile marketing plan is a must.

And modifying your existing video publishing strategy to include optimization for mobile isn’t very difficult.

Here’s how:

1. Use a mobile-optimized HTML5 video player, like the one available in Sitefinity 7, to host your video content. Make sure video files are formatted for mobile by using mp4 and/or alternative ogg formats.
2. Make sure you incorporate videos in your responsive website design templates for blog posts, news items, page content, sidebar, related content, etc. You should be able to put a branded and stylized video player on any page of your website.
3. Test your video player across all devices (mobile, tablet, and PC, etc.), browsers (IE, Safari, Firefox, etc.) operating systems (OSX, Android, Windows, etc.) and layouts (horizontal and vertical).

HTML5 video, related video, integrating with open graph and sharing are a few other opportunities to explore as you prepare a mobile video publishing strategy.

#1: Mobilize Your Landing Pages

The landing page is the pivotal element of every marketing effort. All of your social media, advertisements, promotions, banners, email blasts and other marketing initiatives ultimately lead visitors to a campaign landing page.

There is an overall consensus among marketing experts that landing pages must become mobile-friendly, but data shows that only 22% of companies report that their landing pages are always responsive. In fact, more than 60% claim that they are never, rarely or only sometimes responsive (ExactTarget, 2014).

The reason most companies have not successfully implemented responsive design as a part of their campaign process is that they believe it requires additional technical effort from a programmer.

But this notion that you need a technical resource for every campaign landing page is a misconception.

With the proper responsive layouts, templates and device emulators within your content management system, you can literally add as many mobile-ready landing pages as you want - without the technical overhead.

And that is definitely a moment of mobile nirvana for every marketing team!

Here’s how you do it:

1. When creating your responsive design, make sure it includes templates for campaign landing pages.
2. Create a mix of responsive rules and layouts so that you can pick and choose the page template that is right for each campaign.
3. Although you can make navigation responsive, external research and our own experiments show that skipping the navigation on a landing page contributes to a 30% better conversion rate.

As you launch creative mobile initiatives for smartphones, tablets, multimedia or any other important part of your digital presence, make sure to look for the right types of opportunities to build up your loyal mobile following. Tablets, video streaming, and responsive landing pages are great places to start.

You can set up a demo of Telerik Sitefinity to see these processes in action and how they can be incorporated in your day-to-day work. Have any questions? Let's Talk!