Primary Device Switches from Desktop to Mobile – Your Digital Strategy Should, Too

Does your current digital marketing strategy include reaching out to mobile Internet users? If not, it may be time to rethink your approach. The increasing prevalence of mobile-based Internet usage has forced many marketers to accommodate a large portion of users who access the Internet almost exclusively by way of their mobile devices. In fact, many analysts in the digital space now assert that the only way for companies to survive in the coming decades is to put mobile squarely at the center of their digital strategy. Read on for what’s in store and what your next steps should be.

Primary Device: Clear Changes in User Preferences

According to a survey conducted by Adobe, 92% of millennials consider their smartphones to be the main device for their Internet usage. This statistic is no doubt influenced by the fact that millennials are also heavy social media users, frequently accessing perennially popular social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram through their smartphones or tablet devices.

GenX’ers were next in line, with 84% reporting their mobile device to be their primary means of Internet access. The numbers taper more noticeably with baby boomers and the 70-and-older crowd, but still, a majority of 69% and 67% respectively state that their smartphone is their go-to device for Internet access.

It’s Only the Beginning

The fact that the mobile marketing industry is still in its infancy has staggering implications, especially when you consider the massive amount of revenue being generated by mobile advertising. In the US alone, revenues from mobile marketing accounted for more than $200 billion in 2014, and current projections look to see that figure increase each year by double-digit percentages.

Not only are the advertising dollars being spent on mobile marketing increasing to stratospheric levels, but mobile traffic itself has grown at more than 10 times the rate of desktop traffic over the past three years. Add to that the fact that the average consumer spends roughly 2 hours per day on some type of mobile device, and it’s easy to see why focusing on mobile marketing will position your business to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities in terms of increased reach and engagement.

Integrating Mobile into Your Digital Marketing Strategy

With the momentum clearly being in favor of mobile marketing for the foreseeable future, how should your business respond in order to accommodate this burgeoning consumer segment? Here are some important steps you can take to make your digital marketing strategy as mobile-friendly as possible:

1. Make sure your website is entirely mobile-friendly. This means either building a custom website that’s compatible with mobile devices, or optimizing your current website with responsive design in order to accommodate mobile visitors. If you rely heavily upon search engine traffic to bring visitors to your site, having a mobile-friendly website is an absolute must due to Google’s “Mobilegeddon” algorithm update, which favors mobile sites in search engine results.

2. Publish a smartphone app that provides users with the most important and action-oriented aspects of your website. You can offer customers relevant information regarding sales, promotions and other significant business-related events on a regular basis, and you can maintain a more direct type of engagement through the strategic use of push notifications.

3. Optimize your email marketing for mobile users as well. While having a mobile-friendly website is a critical element of your digital strategy, don’t forget that many of your email subscribers are going to access your next email message by way of their smartphone or tablet.

According to a study published by the U.S. Consumer Device Preference Report, nearly two-thirds of all emails opened in a given year will be done so on some type of mobile device, and more than 40% of mobile users will delete email messages that do not display correctly. Top email marketing service providers such as Constant Contact and MailChimp have entire sections of their websites devoted to providing guidelines to help users make their email messages more mobile-friendly, so it’s definitely worth your while to integrate mobile-friendliness into your email marketing efforts.

4. Play to the strengths of mobile devices, such as location-based promotions (e.g., a GPS-friendly store locator) or click-to-call functionality if applicable. In addition, SMS/text message promotions are still a highly effective way to reach customers; in fact, the open rate for SMS/text messages is an enviable 98%, compared to email at only 22%.

As the mobile revolution continues to spread like wildfire, it’s becoming more and more apparent that considerations for mobile users should be one of the defining elements of your digital marketing strategy. Use the suggestions listed above to help your business stay ahead of the curve, so that you can tap into the remarkable potential of the mobile market.