By now, you should be well-aware of the incredible potential of mobile marketing. Mobile ad spending amounted to more than $4 billion in the United States alone in 2012. Annual US mobile ad budgets are set to hit $12 billion by 2016. In the rush to get in on this gravy train, many businesses are wasting money by committing some egregious mistakes without even realizing it. Before you go all-out on mobile, be sure to avoid doing any of the following.
Skimping on Responsive Design
Making sure that your web properties are optimized for mobile will guarantee that every visitor sees the same thing on any device. Whether you’re using a native app or more likely a mobile website to engage mobile users, your web content and ads should be glitch-free. Responsive web design principles keep everything uniform and standardized regardless of whether your visitors are using a tablet, a smartphone or a PC to access your primary websites.
Targeting the Wrong Users
Before you launch any mobile ad campaign, consider who you’d like to go after and how they will most likely react to your efforts. For instance, perhaps your target demographic isn’t particularly savvy with social media and prefers traditional websites. Alternatively, perhaps they’re more likely to be enticed by PPC ads or direct pitches like Sponsored Stories on Facebook. Identify your audience and their preferences before you spend a lot of money catering to their unique tastes.
Read More: 4 Reasons Mobile Users are Important to Acquiring Customers
Disregarding Analytics Analysis
Even more so than traditional content marketing, mobile marketingdemands that you keep a close eye on your analytics feedback. Crunching the numbers is the only way to make mobile marketing a profitable venture in the end. Use your analytics data to discover which platforms and demographics are worth targeting, determine ROI and refine your campaigns. Even failed campaigns can provide you with a wealth of information that can save you time and money in the future.
Neglecting Cross-Platform Promotion
Combine your mobile advertising with social media and location-aware apps whenever possible. Keeping the SoLoMo mantra in mind when brainstorming a promotional crusade is of the utmost importance in this day and age. Vertical, multi-channel campaigns will always outperform mobile ad efforts that only target one particular website or user demographic. Bringing together social media, local advertising and mobile access can be tricky but ultimately quite productive if you find the right formula.
Making Visitors Jump Through Hoops
There’s only so much room to maneuver within an app or a mobile website and time is of the essence. Reducing the number of touchscreen taps required to navigate your mobile interface is of paramount importance if you want to hold the attention of mobile visitors. Outside of getting an email address for log-ins, keep things as free flowing as possible. Using coupons or discounts for check-ins on your apps is always a good idea.
Mobile Marketing Done Right
When you get right down to it, mobile marketing isn’t that different from the traditional Web 2.0 promotional techniques that you probably cut your teeth on a few years ago. Adapting your strategies to the small screen is the tough part. Put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customers when planning your campaigns. Regardless of how you choose to implement a mobile marketing strategy, the critical missteps mentioned here must be avoided like the plague.
Read More: Why Mobile Marketing Works