In today’s society, the smart phone seems to have overtaken air and water as our prime physiological need. But just how bad is our obsession with the device?

A study by Experian Marketing revealed that Australians check their mobile phones 150 times per day – that’s approximately once every six minutes.

This socio-technological development has changed the way customers interact with the online world, and has reinforced their demand for timely and accessible information on the go.

With people’s increasing reliance on smart phones, mobile marketing has become an essential part of the digital mix, making mobile the screen for digital marketers to target.

Going Mobile

Since the introduction of the smart phone, customer online search habits have changed significantly. Take a look at the following trends:

• 80% of internet users use their smart phones to search for information online
• 46% of Australian smart phone owners use their device in conjunction with another screen such as a TV or tablet, conveying just how intrusive mobile can be as an advertising medium
• 60% of time spent on social media is through a smart phone, reflecting the importance of creating mobile-specific advertisements
• 70% of mobile searches lead to an action within an hour. According to iAcquire (2013), B2B companies have almost three times the conversion rate on mobile than they do on desktop
• 40% of Youtube views were on a mobile device in 2013, up from 6% in 2011.

At the most recent AdTech conference, Seven West Media’s Chief Digital Officer Clive Dickens said mobile marketing “is where the attention lives. This is not the second screen, this is the screen. Wake up and realise that”.

Marketers need to understand and integrate intelligently with this digital channel in order to remain competitive and effectively reach and service their customers.

Here are 4 simple and useful tactics to employ which showcase the power of the mobile device:

1. Have A Mobile Responsive Website

Of online searches, 65% begin on a mobile device. It has now become a business imperative to ensure your site is optimised for mobile.

Ranking on page one of Google and having a great content strategy is important but if a large portion of your visitors (and potential customers) can’t view your site or its content on a mobile device it could be costing your business valuable leads.

Learn more about how you can make your site mobile-friendly by taking a look over these guidelines and resources, posted by Google.

To help improve the user experience online, Google now places a tag next to each search result, indicating if a site is mobile-friendly to those using a smart phone. This will help distinguish your website from competitors who lack the tag and potentially increase click-throughs to your site. Additionally, the tag conveys site credibility to the searcher, showing that you have taken the time and effort to make your site mobile responsive.

This infographic is also useful in showing the importance of making your website mobile-friendly. It covers a number of ways that your business could benefit by optimising your website for mobile devices including offering a better user experience and increasing conversion rates.

2. Call-Only AdWords campaigns

If you lack the resources to optimise your site for mobile, you should consider running mobile Call-Only AdWords campaigns.

Google has provided marketers with this new campaign option in AdWords that allows you to create an advertisement showing only your URL, business description, and phone number with a call to action button.

These Call-Only campaigns are only displayed on a mobile phone, and do not give users the option to visit the business’ website or landing page. It only allows the searcher to call the business using the button.

About 70% of mobile searches result in the user calling the business directly from the results page, which conveys the potential of these campaigns to reach new customers. Also, the smart phone call function allows easy tracking of leads generated from this tool, increasing visibility of your campaigns effectiveness.

3. Google Knowledge Graphs

Google’s knowledge graphs are a great way to provide important information to your customers in a short amount of time. When you search for the brand name on a desktop, its Google+ page appears on the right as a knowledge graph, which displays contact details, customer reviews and other information. It’s a great feature on desktop but an even better feature on mobile.

Notice how the knowledge graph dominates the mobile search result? It simplifies the search process for mobile users and provides them with all the information they need without other distractions or the need to scroll down the page.

4. Email Marketing For Mobile

Email marketing is a great way to narrowcast  your businesses content and promotions, especially on mobile – since 74% of smartphone owners now use their device to check their emails. We live in a time-poor society; tasks such as reading and replying to emails are done on the go, so mobile responsive emails are a must.

EDMs (Electronic Direct Mail) are a great way to reach your audience with relevant messaging and offers and can drive users back to your website. It’s important to note that you should only make your EDM’s mobile responsive if your site is as well. You do not want to encourage click-throughs to a site that is too awkward to navigate on a mobile device, as it can severely harm the user’s experience with not only your site, but your brand as well.

Mobile is Going Places

With the constant reliance on smart phones, mobile should be an essential part of your digital marketing focus. Today, more than ever, consumers need and expect timely information about your business and its offerings whenever the interest strikes them, so it’s up to you to give them that.

If you want to stay relevant to your customer, make yourself more accessible, not just on mobile but on all screens your customers actively use both now and in the future.

To learn more about how you can maximise your mobile marketing efforts, and get the most from smartphones for your business, contact Assemblo by phoning (03) 9079 2555 or emailing [email protected]