Did you know – in 2014 50% of web traffic….

will come via mobile devices. Is your current web presence ready to support this phenomenal growth?

This article will help you assess & improve your business’ mobile marketing strategy and is based on the presentation that Adam gave last night at Mooloolaba for the members of Tourism Sunshine Coast:

Mobile optimisation / responsive design workshop – Sunshine Coast

To get started, think about which of the below components of online marketing is the most important to your customers. Is it:

• Local search: being able to quickly find the information they are after while in your region
• Social media: taking a photo, sharing with their Facebook friends
• Sharing impressions: posting a review on your TripAdvisor page
• Get directions: using their smartphone as a GPS
• Booking online: does your online booking system offer a mobile-friendly interface?
• Last but not least: your website – is it easy to navigate on a mobile device?

Mobile marketing 101

Mobile marketing is defined as a set of practices that enables organisations to communicate and engage with their audicence in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. In short, it means that your company needs to be able to engage with your audience on their terms, at a time and location that suits them. 

One key feature of mobile marketing is mobile search, particularly location-based search. With over 85% of smartphone users looking for local information using their devices – e.g. searched for “accommodation” whilst on location – tourism businesses that ignore mobile search will miss out on numerous potential sales.

However, mobile marketing offers many other facets such as coupons, SMS/MMS and mobile apps.

Mobile marketing – a step by step guide

We have identified 5 steps that need to be completed to successfully engage in mobile marketing. Each step is addressed in details in our mobile marketing presentation and in the checklist – both of which you can download using the form located at the bottom of the post.

Step 1- Get a mobile optimised website

Step 2- Focus on your content marketing strategy

Step 3 – Tailor your content for each stage of travel

Step 4 – Consider how you can distribute your content as widely as possible

Step 5 – Look for opportunities to be innovative with your content creation

Is your website mobile-friendly?

Let’s do a quick exercise – pull up your iPad or smartphone and answer the following questions:

• Do you see broken images or missing content?
• Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling?
• Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb?
• Are navigations options obvious?
• Is search functionality easily accessible?

What about your booking engine or shopping cart?

• Do you see broken images or missing content?
• Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling?
• Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb?
• Are navigations options obvious?
• How quick can a user make a purchase?

Making your website mobile-friendly – your options

There are different ways to make your website mobile friendly and our presentation available for download at the end of this article reviews each option in further details. The table below offers a summary.

Mobile-friendly website – Responsive Design

The Smart Tourism Website version 3 is built using Responsive Design. Visit our latest project, www.tamborineaccommodation.com.au from your desktop computer or laptop and resize the window using your mouse. You can also visit it from a smartphone or tablet device to see the different smartphone layouts directly.