Relaunching an Online Marketing Campaign in the Mobile Age
Many small business owners are just getting into online marketing as an effective way to promote themselves in a cluttered marketplace. While most are just now setting up a Facebook page and honing their e-commerce structure, mobile marketing is becoming a more prominent way to gain customers. Here are some important things to consider when merging your existing online presence with mobile technology:
Redesigning Your Website
Your website should be considered the base camp of your online marketing campaign. You have complete control of what goes on it, so make sure to include effective messages and design. It is also important to offer both mobile site, designed specifically for smartphones and tablets which do not support software such as Adobe Flash.
You should also feature an easy to navigate header with clearly defined sections for your website. It is also vital to include the most important information at the top of your website so it can be seen “above the fold” or scroll bar. Your homepage should have an address, email, social media, and phone number lookup to make it easy for customers to physically communicate with your business.
Social Media Optimization and Web 2.0
When you are starting a social media campaign, two things usually pop into your head: Twitter and Facebook. The first thing you will want to do is plop yourself down on these websites, create a profile page and a handle, and wait for people to start the conversation. This is often the biggest flaw someone can make when getting into social media. According to Ed Abrams, Vice-President of Marketing for IBM Midmarket Business, it is not acceptable to just push communication messages out into the marketplace because consumers are creating the conversation. To really take advantage of a social media campaign, a company must engage consumers and actively listen to their feedback.
Today, sites like Yelp, UrbanSpoon, and other local review communities are becoming authorities on where to eat, shop, and entertain ourselves. If your business has a negative review on one of these sites, it can detract people from even considering the patronization of your business. Some rogue customer or Internet troll could easily slander your business, thus putting you in a tough spot. Make sure to not get totally worked up over reviews on these sites, and take information out of them to make your business better.
SEO and PPC Marketing
The two hardest marketing disciplines to pin down are also the most difficult to fully understand. When implementing a PPC campaign, it is vital to consider the mobile market when bidding on keywords. According to a study by Google Forecasts, about 50 percent of retail searches during the holiday season will come from tablets and smartphones. If you are running a small store and trying to compete with big box retailers for customers, it is important to include geotagging meta data on your website and your PPC campaigns.
When it comes to SEO, you've got to move beyond old school tactics. You will be tempted to stick to classic SEO tactics like keyword research and traditional link building, but you should try and take it to the next level. Why? Today's SEO is not just about keywords - it’s become more about people that are searching using those keywords and relationships with the publishers who are drawing that traffic.
Moving forward, it’s crucial that you include content marketing, social media, and organic link building into your SEO campaign to ensure that you are ahead of the competition. Check out the spreadeffect.com blog for more info on link campaigns.
In other words, mobile marketing still requires you to master the ethos of traditional marketing. It's simply a more expansive, faster growing medium that requires the addition of newer tactics on top of the old ones. Google and other major search engines are looking out to give the best results to their users, and you need to help them do that. Google wants to trust your website before ranking it.
Mobile marketing is not yet as exact of a science as other forms of media. Make sure to take a trial-and-error philosophy along with you and try to have fun while promoting your business.
