Indeed, if statistics are anything to go by then in the next 2 years, one billion people will have accessed the Internet using a mobile device. Currently, in the United States, it has been reported that 25% of the population have quite literally abandoned the laptop in favor for the exclusive use of mobile devices. Aside from the astounding growth of the mobile industry in the U.S., many countries are witnessing people purchasing smartphones first, bypassing PC ownership as their first means of Internet connectivity.

So as an inbound marketer, how can you leverage the power of the mobile device to provide a personalized experience for the user of the device while not intruding in their day-to-day lives too much for them to think about blocking you out? The answer to this question lies in not thinking of the mobile device as another PC, but rather another limb for your busy, active customers and prospects. To learn about effective mobile marketing, read on.

Getting started with mobile marketing

Perhaps successful mobile marketing starts with identifying your mobile users. To do that, you will need to determine whether or not the visitors to your website are indeed using mobile devices to visit your site and what devices they are using most frequently. Knowing the devices used to visit your site will help you prioritize optimization efforts toward those devices.

If you’re just getting started with mobile marketing, then don’t aim for the moon but rather, set yourself realistic goals. For example, if you are thinking of starting an SMS campaign, a good first goal would be to build your opt-in database. If you’d like to optimize your site for mobile marketing, consider starting with the content assets that drive the most leads to your site as a way to dip your toe in the mobile waters.

Ideally, to really get a hang of things when it comes to mobile marketing, you are better off creating a test base to identify your loyal customers on which to test your new mobile campaigns. Believe it or not, mobile marketing requires customization, and a short test phase in which users can give you feedback that will help you catch glitches and create a better user experience before a large-scale rollout.

Understanding the limitations of mobile marketing

While mobile devices have capabilities beyond the desktop computer, always keep in mind the limitations of mobile marketing when designing a mobile site or app. Create content and designs for a small screen, no mouse, and a device on which extensive typing is just not practical. As far as possible, don’t require the visitors to your website to sit through renderings of large images. Not only can it be expensive depending on their data plan, but also it can waste their time and will probably result in site abandonment.

When crafting your forms, create short forms paring down the fields as much as possible. Typing on a smartphone is a nuisance at best and difficult at worst, so shortened forms and those with prefilled options that the user can simply scroll through are ideal.

Leveraging the capabilities of the mobile devices out there

To leverage the power of mobile marketing, use features specific to mobile devices. Take advantage of all the great features of today’s mobile devices when thinking of mobile marketing campaigns. For example, you can use GPS to let users check in at your establishment or you can offer click-to-call functionality, and provide QR codes that lead to a targeted landing page. These features make for great mobile marketing because they address the needs of mobile users in a way traditional Internet marketing cannot.

As far as content creation is concerned, create content tailored to small screens. Shorter content that is formatted in bite size chunks is ideal for the mobile experience. Be succinct, and utilize bold headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to break up longer paragraphs and make it easy for the reader to find what he/she needs.

Email marketing is best made mobile-friendly

If you are into email marketing then as far as you can, invest in plain text and HTML email versions. Some email clients will default to plain text and give readers the option to show pictures, while others will load pictures automatically. Be prepared by ensuring your emails render quickly and clearly in either scenario.

Another important thing to remember when it comes to mobile-friendly email marketing, write descriptive alt text. Alt text, or alternative text, is the text that displays in lieu of an image when graphics can’t render. If your email header is an image with a generic name, change the alt text to something that relates to the subject of the email.

Craft a crystal clear subject line. When mobile users have a few minutes to check their email, they commonly divide their inbox into three categories: “read now,” “delete,” and “save for later.” With a vague subject line, you’re sure to end up in the “delete” category. Create a clear subject line to get your email read immediately, or at least starred for later.

Integrate mobile marketing with your inbound Internet marketing strategy

Last but not least, when it comes to successful mobile marketing, you want to do what it takes to integrate mobile campaigns with your CRM. As with any other campaign, you can and should track and nurture leads that come through your mobile campaigns.

Use mobile marketing to move leads through your funnel. They’ve opted in to your campaign so clearly they are interested in you. Take advantage of that knowledge by providing content and a user experience tailored to their needs on a mobile device. For example, those in retail or ecommerce can optimize online checkout for mobile and provide easy access to reviews. B2B marketers can let users register for and listen to webinars on their mobile devices.

Mobile browsing should be more streamlined than desktop browsing, but calls-to-action are still a must. Compile the CTAs you’re using across all your marketing campaigns, and select those that make sense to use in your mobile campaigns to create a congruent user experience.