Nowadays, you can't go anywhere without seeing people staring at their smartphones - and if they're not using a mobile phone, they're using a tablet. Mobile devices are everywhere. If you're still not convinced, you should read this. In 2017 more people worldwide own mobile devices than computers - and every other statistic related to online activity reflects this shift.
What does this mean for local marketers? Simply put, it's time to stop ignoring mobile and make it an important part of your marketing mix. You can't afford not to. Still don't know how to target mobile users? Here are five proven strategies you can use to increase your mobile reach.
Make your website mobile-friendly
Honestly, if you haven't already taken care of this first point, then it's time to stop procrastinating and do it. You can be penalised by Google if you don't use a mobile responsive theme. However, it's about more than just using a mobile theme. You need to make sure that visiting your website is a great experience for mobile users. They should be able to access all the functions and features that computer users do. For many websites, the fault lies in the detail.
Sometimes mobile users can't access all the content - or they don't have access to certain features. The good news is that if you don't want to hire a professional designer, you can get most of what you need by purchasing a premium WordPress theme if you're using WordPress for your website. All premium themes are mobile-friendly, and any additional features you want can be added with plugins. Did you know that in 2016 one in five users made use of mobile payment methods?
Allow mobile payments
ds? If your organisation is not giving your customers the option to pay with mobile wallets, then you may be missing an opportunity to engage with mobile users. To engage with mobile users, you need to accept the technology they use. Mobile wallets offer customers an extra layer of protection by encrypting their credit card details. This makes them - and you - less vulnerable to hackers. By offering mobile payments and letting your followers know about it, you can increase your mobile following and attract mobile customers to your business.
Use location-based marketing
As a local business owner, you need to be able to reach local customers. This makes sense. If you're located in Poughkeepsie, it does you no good if an ad reaches someone who might be interested in your business but lives in Seattle. Geotargeting offers local business owners the opportunity to reach mobile users at the times they are most likely to visit a shop. That's pretty cool - but it's only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to location-based marketing. Let's start with the obvious.
Simple geotargeting means that you can use GPS to target customers directly when they are in the vicinity of your business. An example would be a restaurant targeting its mobile followers with a happy hour voucher at 5pm on a Thursday. Or... you could use geofencing to send automatic notifications to users when they are within a certain distance of your business. This way, you can target your customers exactly when they are most likely to want to stop by.
But geotargeting is more than that. You can use geotargeting to send people notifications and offers when they are in a location where your products might be useful. How about targeting dog owners at a local dog park? Or letting people know about your range of beach toys when they're at the beach? You get the idea. Location-based marketing is the type of precision marketing that can help you get the most out of your investment because it targets people who are in a position to take advantage of your offer immediately.
Use text messages for your marketing
If you want to be sure that your target group is aware of your advertising, text messages - or SMS messages, as they are also known - are one of the best ways to do this. The statistics prove you right. Research shows that SMS messages for 90 % can be opened. This beats any other form of contact by far. With email marketing, you are lucky if half of your recipients open the messages you send. Text messages are ideal because they are delivered immediately.
And unlike regular advertising, which depends on Facebook algorithms and other metrics you have no control over, every person who receives a text message from you gets a notification. This is the kind of personalised reach that marketers could only dream of - at least until text messaging came on the scene. You can use SMS messages to make offers, send coupons, resolve customer service issues and more.
Text messaging feels personal because it's addressed directly to your audience, and this kind of attention can help build trust and brand loyalty. And perhaps most importantly - at least when it comes to managing your marketing budget - text messaging is affordable. What have you got to lose?
Optimise your emails for mobile users
Did you know that most probably more than half of the people you send emails to open your messages on a mobile device? If your marketing emails are not optimised for mobile users, they are likely to be deleted out of frustration - or ultimately ignored. No mobile user wants to scroll horizontally or wait forever for images to download so they can see your content. You can significantly improve your chances of engaging with mobile customers by making sure your emails look good no matter where your subscribers view them.
Use a tool such as Litmusto preview your emails on more than 70 different platforms, including mobile devices and all major email providers. With this small step, you can ensure that you don't miss out on mobile marketing opportunities or lose subscribers because your emails aren't mobile-friendly.
The future of marketing is mobile...
You don't want to be left behind. Mobile marketing offers local businesses a wealth of opportunities. What can you do to reach mobile customers today?
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