As widely predicted, mobile took 2015 by storm, with mobile searches surpassing desktop search on Google for the first time. It’s now more important than ever for local businesses to make mobile marketing a top priority in your 2016 online marketing strategy.
The more you can connect with consumers where they are looking, the more opportunities you have to capture their business. When crafting your 2016 local business marketing strategy, you need to keep the customer journey in mind, and make it as easy as possible for them to discover and connect with your local business, and the place to do this is mobile. According to Google’s “Mobile Path to Purchase” study, 93% of people who use a mobile device for research go on to make a purchase.
We’ve outlined the top 3 strategies your local business should consider to connect and engage with consumers through mobile devices in the coming year.
Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 1: Utilize text message marketing
SMS messaging / text messaging is becoming an increasingly common and effective way for small businesses to connect with consumers. Whether it is sending out promotions, special offers, or reminders and confirmations for appointments, SMS is a great tool to quickly and easily connect you with consumers and give them an immediate reason to head to your location.
Text messaging is also a great way to help supplement your normal call-to-action. For example, if you have trouble getting customers to show up for appointments, send a reminder; if in-store promotions are your most effective marketing tactic to drive business, send out a message that highlights your in-store special.
One thing to remember is that customers must “opt-in” to receive SMS marketing messages, but with a good enrollment strategy, and a mindful plan to use the channel effectively (and most critically, to resist the temptation to overuse it), SMS can be a strong additional to your overall mobile engagement plan.
AMC Theaters is a great example of a company who uses text message marketing effectively, starting with double checks on consent.
Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 2: Optimize for the mobile inbox
Ever since Blackberry made email on your smartphone mainstream, the inbox had moved outside of the desktop experience, and continues to be one of the most widely used features of every mobile phone user. With this popularity, it’s important that your local business mobile marketing strategy includes responsive emails that can easily be read both on the desktop and a smart device.
Elements of a mobile-friendly email are:
- Responsive design
- 35-character limit on subject lines
- Alt attributes for images
- Single-column layout
- Call-to-action (CTA) buttons are finger-friendly (for clumsy thumbs)
Keep your message focused and your emails uncluttered with unnecessary links, images or additional CTAs.
Local Business Mobile Marketing Tactic 3: Be found in local search
Of all the mobile marketing strategies for local businesses, the most critical is discovery through local search. Local searches on a mobile device drive customers directly to your business. There are a number of tactics to ensure discovery through mobile searches, including proper business listing management and Google Maps optimization – but the most important is to ensure your website is mobile friendly. Google shared their guidelines for a mobile-optimized site, putting special emphasis on videos and redirects for mobile websites. Putting these tactics to use will drive you higher in local search rankings.
Not only will a mobile-optimized site help you in mobile search, but for desktop search as well, getting you in front of consumers no matter where they are searching.
To learn more about local business mobile marketing:
By creating a strong local business mobile marketing strategy for 2016, you set your business up for success, as mobile continues to grow as the top source of contact for consumers.
The post The New Customer Journey: Think Local, Act Mobile appeared first on LocalVox.
from LocalVox » Local Marketing Blog http://localvox.com/blog/customer-journey-local-business-mobile-marketing/
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