Just when you started feeling confident in your digital marketing strategy, you start hearing whispers about that consumers are abandoning desktop and laptop searching for a new way of consuming content: mobile. This trend isn’t hard to spot if you stop and think about the way you do things in your own life. When you need to find a shop, restaurant, or product, do you sit down at your computer, or do you reach for your phone? How do you search for information? Do you wait until you’re at the computer again, or do you pick up your phone and start researching?
Statistics say that almost half of all people using the internet at any time are using a mobile device. Depending on your market, that figure could be even greater. Attention spans are even shorter for mobile device users than they are for people surfing the web. That means you have even less time to capture their attention and get them to keep scrolling.
These facts beg the question: How strong is your mobile content marketing strategy? Are you doing everything you can to reach mobile users and keep them on your site? Consider these smart strategies for mobile content marketing success to evaluate how your business is meeting these needs.
Design with Devices in Mind
Poor design strangles your content. No matter how brilliant your content is, no one will read it if your design makes it hard to view. Content that looks great on a big screen doesn’t necessarily play the same on a mobile device. Thus, your site design has to accommodate that.
Responsive design is one way to get this done. This kind of design reacts to the type of device a site visitor is using, adjusting the size to fit the dimensions of the screen. This allows for mobile visitors to see your site in an easier to read format than simply crushing your desktop design onto a smaller screen.
However, responsive design is just part of the picture. You may have content on your desktop site that doesn’t work on mobile. When this happens, you will need to rework content or remove it entirely for mobile users, to prevent their experience on your site from becoming frustrating. If you have a large amount of content you need to adjust for mobile use, you may prefer to have a standalone mobile site instead of a responsive design one.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Digital users always want scannable content, but this desire is even stronger on mobile devices. No one wants to look at long blocks of text on his or her phone. If that’s what users find on your site, they will click away.
Keep users where you want them by making sure your content is crafted for the way mobile users read. Your headlines should be short and descriptive. You have to make every word count, so you can get your point across instantly. Research indicates you may have less than eight seconds to make that point, so keep those headlines punchy.
Another benefit of short and descriptive headlines is that they take up less screen space, so users can see the start of your content without having to scroll. Your paragraphs should follow the same model. Keep each paragraph to a few sentences, and be judicious about cutting out all of the fluff. This keeps your content scannable and keeps users reading, since you’re not wasting any time in providing the information that they want.
Provide a Consistent Experience
Even if the content itself is presented differently, users should be able to jump between your desktop site and mobile intuitively. To achieve this, you will need to ensure that the experience is consistent.
Don’t provide tools on your desktop site that aren’t available on the mobile site, or vice versa. Content that is password-controlled should be that way on all iterations of your site. Keep the navigation the same on the menus of all versions of your site. For users, having to relearn how to access your content across devices is frustrating and time consuming, making them more likely to look for another site that can serve them better.
Use a CTA—But Don’t Be Aggressive
A call to action, or CTA, should absolutely be part of your mobile content marketing strategy, as it is with any digital content. However, resist the urge to be aggressive in presenting your CTA to consumers. In other words, don’t use a pop-up CTA for mobile devices.
Tempting though it may be to use a pop-up ad to solicit leads, guide users towards a big sale, or suggest products based on users’ behavior on your site, don’t do it. This creates a horrible experience for users and has a poor record of converting users to sale. Users are more likely to click away and find another site that doesn’t hit them over the head with sales pitches while they’re soliciting information. Your CTA should be inside your content for users to find naturally. Don’t fear the scroll—if your content is delivering, mobile users will keep scrolling, and they will find your CTA organically.
If you need more convincing that banning mobile pop-ups is in your interest, Google has announced that sites that use this trick will receive lower rankings in search results.
Don’t Lose Sight of Your Purpose
Your business’ purpose should always be at the core of your mobile content marketing strategy. So, don’t lose site of it while you adjust your site for the mobile experience. Every piece of content you publish should have a “why.” Why does this piece of content matter to your users, and how does it fit into your broader content marketing strategy? Having this purpose for content creation keeps your site lean, informative, and functional for users in any environment.
Don’t waste time playing guessing games with your mobile content marketing plan. The team at Pennington Creative can create a custom strategy that works for your business, with industry-specific content creation and mobile-friendly marketing plans. Our copywriters and digital marketing strategists have the know-how to take your brand to the next level. Contact our digital marketing team in Tucson today to start on your mobile content marketing plan.
