With more than half of digital content now consumed on mobile devices, creating it with a mobile mindset has become a must. The problem is, taking desktop content and merely porting it over to mobile doesn’t work. Where is a marketer to start?
Giselle Abramovich, senior and strategic editor of CMO.com, an online provider of digital marketing news, spoke with accomplished marketers on the topic, who shared these insights:
Not all mobile devices are created equal – Marketers must be careful not to put all mobility devices into one bucket, says Jeff Hasen, CMO, chief strategist, and founder of Gotta Mobilize. Tablets are connected via Wi-Fi or cellular service less than 20 percent of the time, while a mobile device is connected to the Internet almost 100 percent of the time. That means smartphone device users are almost always reachable, while tablet owners provide brands more limited access. And don’t forget wearables. These devices are still in their infancy, but as consumer adoption rises, so will content consumption. In turn, brands will need to adjust their mobile content strategies.
User experience is paramount – “The mobile user expects a brand to anticipate their needs and deliver a relevant digital experience that is personalized, lightning-fast, consistent across screens, and highly efficient,” Esmee Williams, vice president of consumer and brand strategy at Allrecipes.com, told Abramovich.
Speed matters – Four in 10 Americans abandon a mobile shopping site that won’t load in three seconds or less, says Hasen. Amazon determined that a page load slowdown of only one second could cost the company $1.6 billion in sales each year.
Liquid, linked and loved – The key to great mobile content is to make content “liquid, linked, and loved,” said Adam Kmiec, senior director of mobile, social, and content marketing at Walgreens. Liquid means that the content works on all screens; linked means the content drives an action and never leads to a dead end; loved means the content should be interesting enough that an audience seeks it out.
The CMO.com article, “Can Your Content Make It On Mobile?” has great information we couldn’t include here. We’ll link to it in our Additional Web Resources box at SalesandMarketing.com.
