This week’s Guest Post author is Arthur Tegetmeier from Clicky Media. We all pretend to know everything about Mobile Marketing but Arthur actually spells it all out.
The first thing to understand when looking at mobile as a marketing platform is that it is fundamentally a different medium to traditional marketing platforms (desktop and tablet included). Irrespective of what those differences are, it should follow that a particular platform demands a specific strategy. Surprisingly, this is a measure that many large and established brands are yet to adopt. Below is an outline of what some of these differences are, what they mean for marketing and how they can be approached.There are of course some very clear differences between mobile and desktop, for a start, the screen is much smaller! It may sound like an obvious point but you’d be surprised at how often companies take no account of this when marketing themselves on mobile devices and smart phones. If you can’t see a site properly, how can you expect it to be effective? The size also impacts on paid-search listings, with smart phones only allowing enough space for two Google AdWords listings above the fold. Having a separate paid campaign, tailored for mobile can also reduce the risk of drawing traffic away from your ‘traditional’ paid search listings.
Another distinction between the two mediums is inherent in the name, desktop is used at a desk, whether at home or at work, meaning the motivations and expectations behind it are different to mobile, when most people are on the move or in a public space. With this in mind, mobile marketing should target location-based searches and include more suitable calls-to-action, like click to call’ (it is a phone after all!).
The potential of those features unique to smart phones should be maximised. Look on them as enhancements, rather than limitations. QR codes can be an extremely effective use of a phone’s attributes; including Google Places listings as well as offers and coupons available only to mobile customers can help to differentiate a mobile search from desktop.
UK Mobile vs Desktop Search '10-'12 source: Statcounter
The current trend shows that the proportion of monthly mobile searches in the UK is increasing relative to desktop – albeit slowly CSee graph). Worldwide, the trend is even starker, with growth of mobile search outstripping desktop in many places around the world, particularly developing countries. With technological advances allowing more and different capabilities in mobile search, this trend is likely to continue meaning more and more resources should be allocated to harness the potential of mobile marketing. Because let’s face it, mobile search is not going away!
The author is Arthur Tegetmeier, SEO Accounts Manager with Clicky Media. Arthur is a digital marketing enthusiast specialising in all things to do with optimisation. Established in 2005 by Oliver Yeates, Clicky Media is a team of Google qualified internet marketing professionals with over 25 years’ combined experience in the industry. The company has its head office in beautiful Chester and offers a complete service including mobile marketing, SEO, social media (design and management), web-design and display marketing.
