With so much chatter about “Going Mobile” and big numbers being thrown around it’s not a time to rush in. Racing to tick the box could end up in heartache later so here’s a quick guide to cover off the key elements you should be considering, a short plan and some reading links. We’ve been building mobile-first sites since 2010 so can vouch for the heartache, learning from our experience is not a bad thing to do:
What is this all about?
The growth of mobile usage in the last 12 months has been phenomenal. Typically, 50% of your customers will open email on a mobile device and 20% of your site visits will be on mobile. This is expected to continue to grow dramatically and the numbers are conservative; we have clients who see 70%+ email opens and 30%+ site visits from mobile and tablet. We believe the split will be 1/3rd mobile, 1/3rd tablet and 1/3rd laptop – the Game of Thirds.
Mobile is all about Responsive Design, you may have heard the phrase banded around, but here is a good 5 minute executive backgrounder to get you started. And here to get another view.
What needs to be covered?
More than you think. All aspects of digital communication needs to take mobile into account and that specifically includes:
- Your web-site, it’s content, images, applications and delivery method
- Outbound email
- Landing pages (if you use them)
- Online advertising
The customer journey now crosses different types of device and communication medium (so says Google); the strength of your digital strategy is measured across the whole journey. A weak link in the chain will adversely affect the whole process.
Approach
There are just 3 ways to Go Mobile and we’re written a short article covering the pros and cons of each method. It’s a 5 minute read. We follow best practices and advocate deploying a Responsive Design across all the communication channels. We strongly suggest you work through the list above and plan for each stage before you put pen to paper and place orders. Every element must fit beautifully with every other element.
There are a number of pitfalls to watch for and we’ve published a neat guide; 13 things to avoid when going mobile which should help you avoid the common traps. Old fashioned design cues are on the way out, to be replaced with an altogether more customer-focussed approach that is simpler and easier to use. Don’t forget email, mobile use is typically twice that of the website so have a plan to get email right.
Landing pages should already play an important part in your strategy and must, too, be responsive. Finally, the online advertising world is moving pretty fast in this area and it’s one you don’t have as much control over. Be aware of the challenges and plan to meet them.
And in the future?
The range of different devices has started to explode; watches, glasses and lots of other personal networking devices and technology is coming down the pipe. Want a little peek into the future?
Where to start
We’re offering a FREE review of your mobile plans, until the end of August, thats a great place to start. A depressingly high percentage of marketers admit to not understanding the mobile space so choose your partners, advisors and suppliers wisely.
Contact us and we’ll be happy to help out. We’ve been mobile-first since 2010 and since 2011, every website we’ve delivered has been responsive.
