The demand for mobile content is no longer a growing trend – it is a reality that is here to stay and demands a mobile content marketing strategy.
Today, over 70% of users across generational boundaries believe that mobile engagement is crucial for B2B activity.
The only question that remains for business who want to tap into that market is, “How?” How can your business produce content that is going to increase brand awareness, loyalty and ultimately, sales?
Mobile browsing is not the same as desktop browsing. You are working within a tight space and trying to win an audience with impatient fingers and a highly-tuned relevancy radar.
The mobile audience search trend is specific, not generic. This audience knows what they are looking for and quickly move on if the search does not yield almost immediate results.
This is backed up by the evidence of higher bounce rates on mobile devices and shorter overall, “time on site.”
Content marketing that aims to please a mostly mobile audience needs to keep these factors in mind when producing content they hope their audience will love.
Short, sweet and on-point are the watch-words moving forward in mobile content marketing.
With that, here are seven strategies to help you move your mobile marketing forward.
1. Keep the Most Critical Information Front and Center
Unlike using a desktop or laptop, the eyes of Smartphone users, do not usually track left to right. Their focus is fixed at the center of the screen.
That reason, you are going to want to put the most important information right in the middle of the screen.
The information needs to be large enough for the majority of users who skim content but not so much that it becomes indistinct from the surrounding content.
If the goal of your content is to call the user to action, then that action step needs to be in the center of the screen.
Hyperlinks become less relevant on mobile devices and so consider making all CTA’s a clickable button.
2. Keep Your Paragraphs Short
Mobile users tend to skim quickly through written content. One of the ways to mitigate against the short time and short attention span is by keeping your paragraphs to no more than three sentences long.
Keep the information chunks short. Ideally, you want your audience to capture the essential thought in a single paragraph of no more than three sentences.
One main point or thought per paragraph is best. Keep your language simple and succinct. The ideal structure for a paragraph flow something like this:
- State: Convey the thought in a single sentence.
- Illustrate: Give an example or justification
- Apply: Tell them what to do with the information
Consider the following paragraph.
“You need to keep your information as brief as possible. People are too busy to read great lengths of content. Therefore, keep your paragraphs short, and your sentences even shorter.”
Of course, not all of your information will be this succinct. But you should think through what you’re saying to ensure easy comprehension.
3. Remove All Decorative Distractions
Does your content really require GIFs of falling snow? While it may help to bring the reader to a pause such decorative elements rarely conveys any meaningful or useful information.
There are plenty of serious blogs out there with outstanding content. Unfortunately, they become mostly useless on a mobile device simply because of a number of unnecessary and decorative distractions on the page.
If you really have something worthwhile to say you should have no need the bells or whistles. Some of the bells and whistles I have in mind, and which will only raise the bounce rate are:
- Pop-ups
- Animated GIFS
- Flashing or disappearing elements
- Excessive fonts
- Illogical design sequencing
While pop-ups can be successfully integrated with your design unless they have something irresistible to say it is simply an interruption to the user experience. And, more often than not, it actually interrupts the CTA process.
The only time a pop-up will likely be successful is if the content of the pop-up is highly relevant and insanely compelling. On a mobile device, if the pop-up doesn’t match exact user intent, you have probably lost the user from the entire website.
Another good reason to keep these decorative distractions off the page is that they tend to slow down the load time for mobile browsers.
Again, mobile browsers are busy browsers, and so timing is critical.
Timing is a critical factor in mobile marketing. A 1-second delay in page loading can cost you sales, leads and an audience.
4. Use Video – But Have a Very Good Reason
We all know how heavily video content is consumed. But consuming that information and being converted are two very different things.
Adding video content as part of your content marketing strategy is a very good idea. But, just like your written content, your video content should aim at a single focus and a single call to action.
You don’t get paid (ordinary), according to how many people are on your site, nor for how long they stay. If you’re in business, you only going to get paid when you convert a visitor with your content.
Remember, you’re in the business of marketing. Your content is there to further your brand reputation, audience, and loyalty. The most effective videos (by conversion, not consumption) tend to be:
- Brand videos
- Explainer videos
- Product reviews
- Event Video’s and
- Webinar Videos (involving a product or service)
There is around 60% of video market being consumed on a mobile device. That gives you an excellent opportunity to capture and expand your audience.
Webinars work effectively for a lot of business to business marketing. Short and dynamic videos may work better for business to customer or consumer marketing.
Take some time to understand how you can best utilize video content marketing in your strategy. Look at your own habits when it comes to acting on videos. observe what you watch and do your own niche-specific research.
5. Keep Your Content Logical and Sequential
Avoid repetition. Ensure your content flows in a logical fashion. Make sure it moves in a single direction – especially if yours is an eCommerce or retail shopping site.
In talking about the logical and sequential approach to content, I am talking about goal optimization. Goal optimization is standard practice when it comes to setting up campaigns in Google.
But smart marketers know that the principles apply everywhere in content marketing. Not only is goal optimization necessary for effective Adwords campaigns, but it also helps your on-site
The rules offered earlier for paragraph format also apply to the body of content as a whole.
There are many strategies when it comes to logical and sequential content marketing. Here are a couple of approaches to consider when it comes to mobile device engagement.
Problem and Solution
Let’s say you run a shoe shop that sells shoe grease. Yes, that’s right, you sell shoe grease.
Because you have optimized your content for search engines the search phrase, “how to loosen tight shoes,” is going to land sweetly, right on your website.
Because you’re a smart content marketer, you’ve already anticipated this, and so your content is optimized using a problem-solution strategy
- The problem: Tight fitting shoes
- The Solution: Edna’s Sensational Slippery shoe Grease
Whether you use video or the written word or some other form or an infographic, your focus is very straightforward.
You’re going to succinctly outline the problem that brought the user to your site. From there, you’re going to demonstrate a solution. You can backup your solution with some visual examples and perhaps some testimonials.
Features and Benefits
Though there is plenty of overlap between any number of content marketing strategies, it is a good idea to break them down.
That way, when you put them back together, you do so with a very clear purpose in mind.
This is going to go a long way to ensure that the flow and sequence of your content are logical. It takes the user wherever it is you want them to go.
And so, even though the above example would include features and benefits, I want you to see it as a separate strategy.
- Feature: Shoes that fit any feet
- Benefit: All-day comfort
These are just two of many strategies you could employ. What they have in common is they follow a logical pattern of thought. It’s a pattern that is easy for the consumer to comprehend.
You do not want users to become disjointed or disgruntled by the plethora of visual distractions. You also don’t want them to be discombobulated by the contorted use of multi-syllabic and illogical conjecture on your part. Got it?
Keep the structure of your content obviously logic and sequential, leading to a call to action.
6. Engaging The Social Media Market
Social media marketing and mobile marketing are usually thought of as two different channels. However, mobile and social content have become virtually interchangeable.
Social Media engagement is pretty much synonymous with mobile device engagement these days.
The majority of social media users engage via mobile. That has significant implications for content creators who are utilizing those content channels.
Moving forward in content marketing that makes use of social media means creating content from a mobile-first perspective.
Given that mobile use is only increasing and that mobile accounts for nearly 80% of time spent on social media, content creators cannot ignore the trend.
Part of your content marketing strategy for mobile devices needs to take into account the primary question that most users are asking. That question is, ‘Do I want to share this?”
This question needs to be addressed by mobile content marketers. It involves solid research in your niche to find out which content is likely to be shared by others.
Which Social Content Strategy is Best for Your Mobile Audience?
A lot of deals and giveaways on Instagram are community-driven and work really well. Offering prizes to customers who take the best pictures with the product is a great way to make of user-generated content.
Influencer marketing can also be highly effective on social media. By working with someone who has an established audience on Twitter or Facebook, brands can tap into new audiences. This is a reliable way to build followings that may later convert to loyal customers or B2B partners.
Social media marketing for mobiles deserves much more space than we can give it here.
If you plan to move into (or you are wanting to excel at) content marketing for mobile with a focus on Social Media, you can start with this resource on gaining traffic via Social Media.
