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According to recent statistics, over 90% of people now own a smartphone, so it’s fair to say that mobile technology has taken the world by storm in the past few years. As the vast swathe of the population has shifted to using mobile devices to search online and carry out many of the functions they once did on a desktop computer, businesses have had to adapt to make sure they keep up with this changing trend.
The rise of mobile marketing
In order to reach existing and new audiences, businesses have had to jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon in order to survive. From retailers of goods and services to those in the gaming, beauty, fitness, health, education and many other sectors, businesses of every shape and size have recognized the importance of using mobile technology to better connect with customers.
Those firms that have failed to make the leap, are increasingly finding that they can’t compete with their rivals who have happily embraced the switch to mobile technology. But, just how can businesses use mobile technology to the greatest effect to win over audiences?
Taking a mobile-first approach
Adopting a mobile-first approach to how you run your business is one of the best ways to connect to wider audience groups, ensuring you can meet their demands. It essentially means designing a website that suits the mobile market first, rather than the desktop computer. Mobile-first uses responsive web design so that a web page adapts to suit the size of a screen, enabling a better user experience when it comes to aspects such as browsing, scrolling and page loading times.
With mobile use now exceeding that of desktop computer use it makes sense for businesses to take a mobile-first approach if they want to maximize their target audience reach. This approach is vital for all industry sectors, not least gaming, which takes up a huge chunk of the mobile market. In fact, it’s estimated that 43% of all smartphone use is now attributed to gaming. Even more of a reason for gaming companies to consider effective marketing strategies for mobile.
With the online gambling sector experiencing growth in previous years, especially during the past year, many iGaming businesses have also ensured that their sites are geared towards mobile users, particularly when bearing in mind that around half of all people who gamble online do so using their mobile device. To ensure that they are able to deliver new games and online slots to their target audience, focusing on a mobile-first approach can help them focus their efforts on creating a quality experience for the devices that are used the most.
Creating an app
As well as designing a website that’s mobile optimized, businesses that wish to reach their audiences through mobile technology should seriously consider developing their own app. This means that users can enjoy the same experience and functions on an app as if visiting a website, whether that be making a purchase when shopping or through gaming.
App usage has surged over recent years and some data estimates that over 50% of people would prefer to download an app first over using a website. In particular, ecommerce businesses can take advantage of mobile apps by recreating their shopping service for smaller mobile devices. Creating an efficient and effective mobile business app can help companies to increase brand awareness, provide added value to customers, improve customer service, and more.
Utilzing social media apps
In addition to creating an app to go alongside a website, businesses can also reach their target groups by making use of the most popular social media apps. With over 57% of people using social media, having a presence on relevant platforms, whether through having your own pages or through advertising, could be a highly effective way to build awareness and attract audiences. Some of the top social media platforms to use for businesses right now are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as LinkedIn.
Although perhaps not for every business, TikTok is also one of the most best-performing social apps right now. Businesses big and small have utilized the platform to share video insights into their company, their packaging processes, to showcase their products, and to become involved in conversations with a huge online audience.
Live chat feature
With more of us expecting to be able to get in touch with brands in an instant, it makes sense for savvy businesses to introduce a live chat feature on their website to meet this rising demand. All customers value good customer support, especially when they are in a rush to buy products and cannot get the quick answers and solutions that they need.
The reassurance of having a live chat can also give a brand credibility as audiences have peace of mind that someone is available to help if they encounter any issues or concerns. Rather than call a support line or wait for an email response, customers are now so used to instant messaging and instant responses. To help stay up to date with technology and with competitors, it’s useful for companies to have a live-chat feature that is now such a popular feature to use.
