If you pay attention to both technology and marketing you can't go too far without hearing about "Mobile Marketing." Mobile Marketing is about engaging your customers and prospects on their mobile devices. It covers text message marketing or "SMS," Apps, Location Based Marketing and Mobile Websites. The proliferations of Smart Phones are the main driver of this trend. In fact, it is predicted that by the end of 2012 there will be 5 million smart phone subscriptions in Nigeria (maybe more). To say "you can't ignore this" would be an understatement. So let's start with "The Mobile Internet" and get you up to date.
The Mobile Internet is where web-enabled smart phones do their browsing. About 20 percent of Google Searches are originated on mobile devices right now. (This number is increasing). Google dominates the mobile search market. So what can you do to take advantage of the Mobile Internet long before your competitors? Let's explore...
First you have to realize that Mobile Internet exists. Browsing a website on your desktop or laptop from a broadband connection in your home or office is a different experience than browsing from a mobile device. As you may have experienced most sites move slowly, hard to read and sometimes their content can't even be displayed on the small screen. What's the problem? These sites are not "mobile friendly."
If you want customers to find you this year, you must be found on the mobile web. Converting your business website to display and operate correctly on phones needs to be a top priority. Phone internet browsing is now the most popular among the people.
Mobile Websites
Mobile websites are meant to fit the small screens of smart phones and mobile devices. The key difference is found in the layout of the site. Graphics, text, offers, navigation and information is presented in a different way. And when it's done right, the experience of the person browsing the site is much better than viewing a "traditional website" from the mobile phone.
Many businesses have yet to appreciate how powerful mobile websites can be. Not only are you missing out on a huge market, but your website is being penalized if you are not mobile friendly.
Accessing mobile site?
There are few ways. One way is through the use of "Q-R Codes" or "Quick Response Codes." These codes can be scanned by your smart phone and take you to a mobile site.
Another way you can arrive at your mobile site is by searching. Then, when your mobile site is properly installed, a piece of code detects the mobile browser and serves the mobile version. You can also get traffic to a mobile site via text message and email marketing by providing links in your communications.
The trend setters in the mobile internet world are the big retailers. Think Best Buy, Target and Amazon. Beyond having mobile websites, these retailers conduct Mobile Commerce or "M-Commerce." Their customers buy right from their phones while on the retailer's mobile site.
For the small business which may not be concerned with conducting mobile commerce, a good mobile web presence with "lead generation" and basic mobile search optimization would put you way ahead of your competitor. Unfortunately there are still many small business owners, who are totally unaware of this trend, It's easy to get started with mobile web marketing via mobile sites, so get going now.
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