Top tips for communications in a mobile world

There are now 1.2 billion people using mobiles to browse the internet, with volumes of mobile device browsing expected to surpass desktop browsing by 2015. As such, adapting web content to suit the mobile user is essential. Follow these top tips to make mobile a great communications tool for you:

1) Make the visitor experience easy – depending on available budget, you have the option of building a dedicated mobile version of your site that automatically displays for mobile users. Alternatively, ensure your existing site is clean, simple and easy to use with small file sizes.

2) Create content that gets to the point – bear in mind that mobile screens are tiny in comparison to the average desktop so content needs to be shortened and all key points summarised. Forget the long promotional lead-ins, go for strong headlines instead. Most of the time mobile users will read just the first few lines of copy. Grab attention by making sure content is front loaded with the major story.

3) Understand your audience – a good mobile website is goal orientated – think about what the user wants from you. Is it the latest discount code, video content, image gallery, news feed or simply your contact details?

4) Don’t forget to make your content available to share – the way we consume content has changed dramatically, so too has the way we share it. Social media has created a shift in content sharing with many mobile web users browsing content online and sharing with others through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to maximise the opportunity to become social. Make sure that social share buttons are added to your website to encourage mobile users to share rich content.

5) Visual content – the most recent trend to dominate the marketing industry is visual content. Videos, images and illustrations draw people in, letting viewers better understand a brand’s identity. Explore ways to incorporate imagery into your content strategy to drive engagement and web traffic.

6) Measurement and evaluate – measuring web traffic can provide you with powerful marketing intelligence. Sign up to Google Analytics to identify mobile users and behaviour patterns to your website. These metrics will help you discover which landing pages mobile users go to and what type of content they are reading and sharing. Evaluate your findings and be sure to implement into your future web content strategy.

The message is loud and clear, with 10 per cent of the UK’s population already browsing the web with mobiles or tablets, businesses need to create content which is easily found and that adds value to their communications strategy and the social conversation. For help adopting and developing your mobile web strategy contact the team today on 01772 888400 or hello@freshfield.com.