2014 Marketing Trends: Is Your Website Mobile Ready?

Marketing a message, product or even an entire brand is no longer limited to printed ads in newspapers and magazines. Today, marketing has evolved into the online world and even into the palms of our hands with mobile technology. When you want to improve your online marketing campaigns and plans for 2014, understanding how to get your website mobile ready is a must. The more active you are with crafting your online marketing campaigns, the easier it becomes to outperform competitors and rise to the top of your industry.

1. Consider Your Demographic

When you want to promote your website with mobile technology, consider the demographic you are trying to reach with your brand, services or the products you have to offer. Knowing the gender, age group and even specific interests of your demographic is a way to determine the best methods of marketing for potential customers. The more you know about the demographic you are reaching, the easier it becomes to create marinating campaigns that are effective and work well.

2. Research Your Audience’s Wants

Knowing what your audience wants from the type of service or product you provide is valuable insight that can be utilized when planning your next mobile marketing campaign. The more you genuinely connect with your audience while communicating with them regularly, the easier it becomes to deliver the products, services and type of content they prefer. Building a solid relationship with your followers and potential customers can help to boost your credibility and reputation in any industry you are working in or representing.

3. Test Your Website in Various Browsers

Ensuring your website runs properly in various browsers and with different mobile phones is necessary before launching and going live. It is also important to test your website not only on mobile phones, but also on tablet devices and iPads to ensure your website is working properly at all times. It is also important to check your website with different screen resolutions on your computers, phones and tablets. The more device-friendly your website is, the lower your site’s bounce rate will ultimately be each day. When you have a lower bounce rate, your website’s page rank improves over time with enough originally-generated content.

4. Is Your Website Using a Responsive Design?

Implementing a responsive design is necessary if you want to keep your website mobile and device-friendly. A responsive design allows users to quickly tap links, photos and scroll to new content. Additionally, responsive designs give users the ability to turn their phones or tablet devices while the site itself follows accordingly. Responsive design can be implemented into just about all websites with the proper script or professional to assist you.

5. Simple Navigation is Key

Using a simple navigation setup is key when you want to manage a successful mobile site. Marketing mobile sites requires simplicity and professionalism, regardless of the products, services or content you are sharing. Ensure your mobile site’s navigation is easy-to-read and locate, preferably immediately upon landing on the site. Making a positive first impression on new visitors is imperative, so verifying your website works in different browsers and with various operating systems is highly recommended.

6. Implement Social Media With Your Mobile Site

One of the best methods of online marketing for any business or brand today is to integrate social media into your campaigns. Whether you want to strictly launch mobile campaigns or if you are interested in running multiple campaigns both online and off, utilizing social media is a must. Social media gives you the ability to build a large following of fans and potential customers for your business. Additionally, when you use social media, you have the ability to update thousands of users on different platforms simultaneously for free, much more affordable than traditional advertising and marketing campaigns.

Create social media accounts for your website on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr to get the most possible followers globally without investing in 3rd-party advertising. Another positive aspect of utilizing social media properly is that you can do so while you are on-the-go, regardless of where you are located. Keeping your fans and customers updated throughout each day helps to not only improve brand loyalty, but it also increase your overall brand awareness online.

7. Test Repeatedly Before Launch

Any time you want to launch a new website that is also mobile and tablet-friendly, it is highly advisable to test your site repeatedly. Check your website on all devices, browsers and operating systems multiple times to test for quality, loading time and appearance issues.

Understanding the importance of a mobile market and advertising in it today can help to drastically increase sales and build a brand in less time. Giving your followers and customers various methods of purchasing from you, reading content or even communicating with you is one of the best ways to become more personable while building your company’s reputation.