It’s not all just about the PC desktop or the Mac desktop anymore. Consumers are mobile. Your audience is mobile. How many people do you know have a cell phone? Think about that for a minute. How often do you see them without it? Never, right? That’s because having a cell phone, especially a smart phone, right at your fingertips, is intoxicating. I remember my math teacher in middle school told me that I had to do the math problems in my head because I would never be carrying a calculator in my pocket. Well, I showed him! My smart phone is in my pocket every day, and it has a calculator app!
The world is on demand. With a mobile device, you have answers just a few finger taps away and literally in your pocket when you need it. Who wouldn’t be wooed over that? For more details about how the mobile market is taking over, see the Morgan Stanley presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit.
Businesses take note. With so many people on their mobile phones doing everything from searching out price checks on products, doing mobile searches for an answer to a question that was just asked to them, or mobile travelers trying to find out where to eat while they are in unfamiliar territory… the possibilities for seeking out information at your fingertips are endless.
That said, I ask the question a second time, what is your online marketing strategy? Have you considered it or are you reconsidering it? The research is showing us consumers are driving businesses to answer…. YES! According to Mobile Marketer, one out of four consumers today has a smart phone with web browsing and apps. This same figure is on its way to jump to one out of three in 2011.
So what’s part of an online strategy?
1. Content is king. Do you have a mobile-friendly version of your website to make content on your website optimized for customer’s mobile devices?
2. Connecting print with online. Have you heard the buzz about QR Codes, 2D square bar codes that are scanned by a mobile device’s camera? Want to use one… then you ought to be sending those people who commit to scanning one of your codes, to a website that is optimized for their mobile device. Think about that for a minute. You don’t want to offer some spectacular deal that is convincing enough to get them to scan a QR Code, however, when they scan, your QR Code is directing them to a website that’s made for a desktop. The smart phone user isn’t going to want to pinch and zoom around your site when they don’t know what they are even looking for. Remember, all they need to do is hit the exit button and poof, you lost them and there goes your potential customer.
3. Websites that ‘wow.’ When consumers are ‘wowed’ by websites, they share them. They share them with friends, family, colleagues and the world via Facebook,Twitter, Linked-In, Google+, Stumble Upon and all of the other social media sites out there. More sharing = more popularity = better search engine placement = more traffic. With all of the sharing of your website links, it should add up to more brand recognition and sales. If it is not converting to sales, analyze how to convert them into sales by studying the website’s analytics.
4. Online advertising. Spread the word and let people know you are out there. Whether it’s Facebook ads, Google Adword campaigns, and website banner ads. Be noticed.
5. Social Media. Do you have a page on Facebook or a social storefront? If not, find out if your audience is there first, if not, then it may not be right for you yet. If you do have a page on Facebook, what personality / tone are you setting with each post? Are you stirring conversation? Do you have a plan for how you are using it? According to Digital Buzz, there are 206.2 Million internet users in the U.S. and 71.2 of them use Facebook. Definitely not the small potatoes in the stew pot.
Those are just a few things to consider with starting an online marketing strategy or reconsidering and continuing your online marketing strategy. If you have questions, we’re well versed in the area and welcome your comments below. Got a more personally related online business marketing question? Email or call us directly for a conversation on how Ocreative can help you develop and execute an online marketing strategy for your business
