Are You Rocking The Mobile Marketing Generation?

Between 2011 and 2016, Cisco systems anticipates that mobile data traffic will outgrow all fixed (cabled) data traffic by more than 300%, globally. They predict that smartphones, netbooks and other portable devices, such as tablets, will be responsible for 90% of the global mobile data traffic during 2016.

These stats are inline with many of the predications that Wi-Fi networks are going to become the norm “Based on the accelerating activity of the past six months, the industry can expect to see rapid expansion of Wi-Fi networks worldwide, that will open up new markets and enable broadband users to enjoy the truly reliable and high-bandwidth experience they’ve been waiting for” concluded Michael Fletcher, sales director: Sub-Saharan Africa at Ruckus Wireless.

With the the growth of mobile Internet, more Wi-Fi networks popping up everywhere and the average person owning three mobile devices that can connect to the Internet, you need to make sure you are riding this wave of technological advances.

It seems that there are many companies that are responding to the mobile revolution, including Google, with their latest update of the Google Search App on Windows Mobile.

The updates from Google include:

• Google Autocomplete: The same as we have on desktop search, as you type in your search, their autocomplete feature offers search predictions that may match your search term.
• Voice Search: No integrating more voice features, you can avoid typing all together by simply pressing the microphone and speak your query into the search engine.
• Your Location: With permission, Google can use your location to provide nearby results easily and accurately. Shopping and coffee shops were mentioned in Google’s official update, but there is so much more that location based services like this can be used for.

Getting ready for the mobile marketing revolution

Here at HodgesNet we have helped many clients take full advantage of mobile technology by enabling them to use social media services, setting up geo-location based check-in software, creating mobile apps, using SMS (text) marketing and much more. Below are out top 5 tips for getting your business ready for the mobile market.

1 – Ensure you have a mobile ready version of your site: People are using mobile search and are engaging more and more with websites on the move. Check with your web team that you have a mobile version of your site set up and working correctly so that your users can read your website.

2 – Use QR codes: QR codes? What are they? You may have seen these funny looking square barcodes on food packaging, adverts, the TV, flyers and even exhibition stands. They are two-dimensional barcodes that cab be read using an application on mobile devices. After taking a photo or scanning them, they point the user to a web page, provide contact information or a download (a discount voucher for example). Remember: don’t point people to your homepage, use a specific landing page for each QR code – and make sure it is a mobile compatible page.

3 – Have a lightning fast website: Remember that most mobile devices can connect to the Internet without needing a Wi-Fi signal. They can use the slower 3G or 2G mobile networks. If you bulk up your site with heavy images and lots of rich media, it will take forever to download your site. Keep it simple for the mobile version of your website.

4 – Get your own mobile App: If you sell anything online, have website with special niche interest or simply provide regular content to people online, get your own App developed and sell it online for additional revenue. You can create free apps if you want to also, bit if you provide content or want to sell your products, you may need to check the terms of service of the iTunes Appstore and Android Marketplace. We wont mention the hidden SEO benefit from mobiles Apps either!

5 – Use mobile technology more yourself: If you want to engage with a community or group of people, having something in common always helps. If you start using mobile technology yourself in your marketing and daily work like for communication, people will start to see this and get used to you sending messages via SMS, checking in and using mobile landing pages. In turn they will respond better when you ask them to engage with you using mobile technology.

If the team here at HodgesNet can help you and your business become mobile marketing rockstars, call 01793 608777 or use the contact form above to get in touch.

Stats source http://www.techsmart.co.za/