6 Ways to Mobilify your Internet Marketing Strategy

Are you reading this content on your smartphone?

If you are reading this on your Blackberry or iPhone then you have just proven my point. If you aren’t, don’t worry—plenty of people will read this on theirs.

Having a mobile marketing strategy is critical for internet marketing—in order to leverage the quickly-growing trend. Whether you are business-to-business or business-to-consumer you can’t deny the reality that a chunk of your viewers will be viewing your content through your mobile device. After all if smartphones weren’t an important part of the online marketplace then why would things like mobile app design be the biggest thing on the internet—well, since the internet.

Here are 6 different ways that you can prepare yourself for the mobile revolution. To optimize your business for mobile devices:

1. Mobilify your Website (and Don’t Forget Downloadable Content)
   The way content is displayed on a tablet, laptop or desktop isn’t the same way it comes out on a mobile device. To optimize your website for mobile content you either can create an entirely new site (but based on the old one) for mobile browsers, or you can tweak the one you have by ensuring your content scrolls only up and down. Ensure that your downloadable content also works on mobile devices. If this all sounds daunting start with your landing page and most frequented secondary pages, and your most-downloaded content. Then work your way from there. Note your page load times on mobile devices, people are impatient and if it takes longer-than-normal they will likely take a pass on waiting for it to load (compare your site to a few other popular sites like Hotmail, Facebook, etc., to ensure yours is loading in good time).

2. Mobilify your Forms
   Mobile users like forms too. Well, nobody likes forms but they are a necessary part of the internet. To make a form more user-friendly enable auto-fill and limit the amount of content you need to enter—because those little Blackberry keyboards are the bane of many users existence and don’t get me started on the iPhone keypad.

3. Mobilify your Email Marketing
   People aren’t just reading your website content on their PDAs (do people still say that?) they are also checking their emails. As a part of your email marketing strategy ensure that your email content displays properly on a mobile device. Pay close attention to load times, if it takes too long they will likely have time to hit the delete button or pass over it. Also keep in mind that many smartphone users are sorting through their emails without even opening them—as a time saver– so, catchy headlines are key.

4. Share This
   Mobile users are proving incredibly social, so be sure to include social sharing buttons on your mobile-friendly pages. Put the buttons front and center so they don’t have to scroll around looking for them.

5. Create Video- and Audio-Based Content
   Smartphones offer you a unique opportunity to capture the attention of your browsers in exciting new ways. As many people complain about the strain on their eyesight of reading on their mobile devices, give them optional video and audio content. Thanks to webcams and powerful handheld video recorders (heck even your phone probably has a decent one now) creating video and audio is simple. Give your readers the option to listen/watch your content—but still keep the text version for old-schoolers.

6. Call Me
   If you are looking for your browsers to interact with your company provide them with the opportunity to do it and make it easy. Indulge the lazy microwave and computer generation’s short attention spans and use a mobile-friendly chat window and/or a click-to-call function to encourage us to interact with you. After all, who has time to dial 7+ numbers. 

   
   

   When ‘mobilifying’ your content focus on page load times and increased opportunities for interaction. Be sure to test out all your content on your own mobile device to ensure it appears just how you want it.

   
   

Robin Wilding  (85 Posts)

Robin Wilding is a professionally trained Canadian journalist striving to bring journalistic-era intergity to online media. She has a second degree in Political Science--with a focus on International Relations and the developing world. Currently Robin is a contributor to several technology publications, including Brajeshwar.com, SocialTechnologyReview.com, HostingIndustryWatch.com, AnimationCareerReview.com and CompareBusinessProducts.com. She also works for several web developers; and does ghost writing for several high level executives within the technology sector. Robin's work is showcased in her portfolio: http://shownd.com/robinwilding