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How to Make Your Brand Mobile-Friendly

 

Ever hear the saying, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”? According to Pew Research Center, 81% percent of U.S. adults own smartphones — and for some of them, these devices are the primary (or only) way they access the internet. The lesson here is simple: if your brand has been trying to resist giving in to the mobile mayhem, it might be time to let go and join ’em.

By now, you probably know that optimizing your website for mobile devices is absolutely essential. But a mobile-friendly website alone is no longer enough — these days you need a completely mobile-friendly brand. Not sure where to start? Here are a few helpful tips.

 

 

Be Strategic

When it comes to mobile marketing, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. For example, some companies benefit tremendously from launching mobile apps, but for others, an app is just a waste of time and money. Similarly, for some organizations, text messaging is an excellent way to stay in touch with customers, but other organizations find that texts annoy their audiences.

Take time to understand the preferences and needs of the people you are trying to reach, and build your mobile strategy with that knowledge in mind.

 

Prioritize Fast, Easy Navigation

An efficient, seamless user experience is an important part of any digital strategy, but it becomes even more vital in mobile marketing. When your audiences are viewing content on a tiny screen and using their fingertips to navigate, they will gravitate toward apps and websites that simplify the process. If your app or mobile website takes too long to load or is hard to use, you risk deterring potential customers.

Make things easy by incorporating forms that autofill data and allowing customers to easily save and return to information (e.g., in a shopping cart or “bookmarks” list) if they need to transition back and forth from their mobile device to a desktop or laptop. As you create interactive content, keep the mobile user interface in mind.

 

Optimize Your Content

 You may have absolutely stunning creative — but it doesn’t do you any good if no one can see it. As you develop content, keep in mind that it may look different on mobile devices. For example, a PDF that’s perfectly readable on a desktop computer may have microscopic font when viewed on a smartphone. Similarly, on a smaller screen, wordy headlines may become an awkward seven lines long, and nuanced images may lose important details.

In some cases, it is beneficial to develop more than one version of a piece to achieve the best results on each platform where it will be viewed.

 

Plan for Voice Search

Siri, Alexa, Cortana — thanks to these lovely “ladies” and other voice-controlled digital assistants, consumers no longer need to type in a search or even physically look at the results to use the internet. As this voice technology trend continues, brands will have to adapt.

Consider how the phrases people use in voice searches may be different from the keywords they’d type in. As search engine algorithms continue to adjust to this pattern, your SEO strategy will need to shift accordingly. By making your brand easily accessible through voice navigation, you’ll give yourself one more chance to connect successfully with your audiences, however they choose to search for you.

 

Explore Mobile Ads

Making it easy for your audiences to find your brand on their mobile devices is only one half of the puzzle. You also need to find them — and mobile ads can be a great way to do so. Social media ads, Google ads and in-app ads are just a few examples of the types of mobile advertising you have to choose from.

To determine the best mobile advertising approach for your brand, research the platforms your audience uses most frequently and consider testing various options to compare performance.

 

Ready to get mobile-friendly? We’re here to help — contact us to get started!