Mary Meeker’s Most Valuable Graph
Per Mary Meeker, mobile (smartphone & tablet) usage now exceeds TV globally.
Where to start in mobile? Try email.
Please Note: Later this week, I’ll be presenting “Where to begin in Mobile Marketing” at the Integrated Marketing Summit. (Use IMSAPD8 for a 20% registration discount.)
Mobile marketing evolves at an extremely fast pace. When innovators like Starbucks and Virgin Air admit that they can’t keep up, how do you remain current with mobile innovations?
Here’s a secret: You don’t need to.
Mobilize what you’re already doing. Most of us use email to send out updates, special offers, acknowledgements, and newsletters to remain connected with our customers.
Unfortunately, much of this branded email isn’t optimized for mobile clients. Why does this matter?
Email is a central tool for mobile users:
- Per ExactTarget, 91% of consumers check their email from a smartphone daily.
- According to Nielsen, the average mobile Internet user spends 42% of her time on email.
- Movable Ink recently found that 66% of all marketing emails were opened on a mobile device—and much higher with key decision makers and coveted demographics.
Email marketing is often the easiest place to start. Unlike websites which are landmines of internal politics, email is largely controlled by marketing departments.
Despite what others might tell you, optimizing your marketing email is not difficult. Here are six tips on how best to do it:
- Format for Mobile First: Let me do you a favor—kill that lengthy email newsletter. When two-thirds of your customers are opening it on mobile devices, keep your messages short, use fewer images and format them for quick loading.
- Focus on the Sender, then the Subject Line: Crafting the perfect subject line matters less in mobile. The sender is more prominent on mobile screens than the subject line. Use your brand or a recognizable name. And that subject line? Make sure you cut it down to 4-6 words tops.
- Be Flexible in Your Email Design: Use a one column design—no exceptions. The flexibility will come in using responsible email templates. If your provider doesn’t offer one and you can’t code your own, switch vendors. Messages need to look great on smartphones as well as laptops. And don’t forget to include a plain text version of your message.
- Nail the “Call-to-Action”: Provide a clear and prominent reason for readers to act. Mobile users scan more on smartphones than on desktops. Put call-to-actions twice in your email—within the first screen and at the end of the message. Make sure that all links are ‘thumbable.’ If you can’t click on it easily with your thumb, redesign it using buttons. Steer clear of blocks of text links.
- Track, Test & Repeat: Share drafts with your team to ensure that messages look great wherever they appear. Not all email clients will display emails in the same manner. Use your email service provider’s analytics tools to see what’s popular and what’s not. Leverage A/B testing for improvements.
- Look Beyond the Email Message: Landing pages need to be mobile friendly. If people are coming from your mobile-optimized email to a web page that isn’t, you just killed your conversion rate. Enable social sharing as a bulk of social media usage is now mobile.
When you focus on the marketing assets you already have—like email, incorporating mobile into your marketing mix becomes a pragmatic and easier process.
(If you want to dig deeper on this topic, check out my Mobile Email Makeover presentation.)
3FER: 18 April 2014
#1: Easter Egg Hunt a la Fabergé
The luxury brand Fabergé launched the largest Easter egg hunt with nearly 300 designer-created eggs tucked across Manhattan. The effort will raise funds for two local charities, highlight the designer talents and give hunters a chance to win exclusive Fabergé jewelry.
When users are within 20 feet of an egg, the app pushes a message to them with specific designer information, and an invitation to check-in to increase their odds of winning. This is a great example of how proximity mobile tools can drive engagement. For more info, check out:
Fashionista: “Fabergé’s NYC Easter Egg Hunt Marks the Largest Beacon Deployment Ever in the U.S.”
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#2: The SMS to WhatsApp Migration
SMS still dominates the messaging world, but messaging apps use is exploding–especially with millennials. WhatsApp dominates the space with half a billion users, but not globally. WeChat owns the China, and Line owns Japan and Indonesia.
Here’s another example of how mobile use is evolving faster than companies can adapt. And both marketers and politicos need to pay attention to this emerging trend:
Ad Age: “How Big Advertisers Are Using Next-Gen Messaging Apps Snapchat, Kik, Tango, Line, and WeChat”
India Times: “Political parties prefer WhatsApp to reach out to voters”
IGB Labs: “Messaging Apps: The New Face of Social Media and What It Means For Brands”
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#3: App-Free Beauty
Marketers are app crazy, and it’s long been a frustration of mine. They believe consumers want an app to ‘engage with their brand’. (They don’t, but feel free to spend $250K to confirm it.) And app development shops are happily fostering this ignorance while cashing in on it.
Every now and then in my Quixotian anti-app quest I run across an example that floors me. One that proves you can create a beautiful and engaging mobile experience without building an app. Check out this gorgeous mobile web tour of Marseille from Google:
Google: “ Night Walk in Marseille”
3FER: 11 April 2014
I’m in Chicago for the Heartland Mobile Council’s inaugural Mobile Marketing Certification program, and I’m craving mobile magic. Here are three examples of mobile innovation to inspire your morning:
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#1: Transit Shelter Destruction
Pepsi flexed some augmented reality muscle to promote Pepsi Max on the streets of London. The platform blended live video with scenes of alien invasions, meteors and much more:
Mobile Marketer: “How Pepsi is elevating message delivery via augmented reality” http://bit.ly/PXtfmy
YouTube: http://bit.ly/PXtHRv
#2: Lyft a private pilot
Pilots want to fly, and you’d prefer to skirt the TSA queue. AirPooler aims to be the Lyft of the private aviation world. Imagine booking a flight to a remote cabin right from your mobile device–at a fraction of the cost of a commercial flight.
This idea has the potential revolutionizing business travel, if you don’t mind the risks of ending up like Buddy Holly:
TechCrunch: “AirPooler Is Lyft For Private Planes” http://bit.ly/PXweez
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#3: 80,000 Volts of Fun
Tomorrow I’ll be presenting at my 6th MinneBar–a day-long geekfest at the Best Buy HQ. Since connected devices are the next evolution of mobile, here’s a prototype of a drone armed with a taser aptly named Project C.U.P.I.D.:
YouTube: http://bit.ly/PXz3MT
3FER: 28 March 2014
#1: Understanding Mobile Moments
We all get deluged with webinar invites. Most are thinly veneered sales pitches. But yesterday, I thoroughly enjoyed an Urban Airship session with Forrester Analyst Ted Shadler.
Shadler reinforces how mobile makes consumer immediacy possible. He highlights companies like Uber and Starbucks who are meeting those demanding consumer expectations by understanding their context and delivering on their moments of need.
No need to register. This will be the best 17 minutes of your week (his portion begins 7 minutes in):
Webinar Recording: “Industry Leaders in Mobile Maturity” http://bit.ly/1hDOyjd
Amazon: The Mobile Mindshift http://bit.ly/1hDQ6d8
Forrester: “Re-Engineer Your Business For Mobile Moments” http://bit.ly/1hDT1T0
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#2: Is Mobile Mutating UPS?
Mobile impacts more than just marketing efforts and IT budgets. It can radically change the way businesses evolve. Most people point to Target or Starbucks as mobile innovators, but both companies are only focused on optimizing their customers’ experience.
For UPS, mobile is mutating the company across the enterprise–such as adding 3D printing at select UPS Stores. Check out this thinking in action:
Mobile Marketing Daily: “UPS Caters To ‘Shifted’ Mobile Consumers” http://bit.ly/O5ZUVr
Forbes: “UPS May Have Hit Pay Dirt With 3D Printing” http://bit.ly/O5Zu13
UPS: “3D Printing Accessible to Start-ups and Small Business Owners” http://bit.ly/O5YHx9
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#3: Pizza Wars
The average American downs 23 lbs of pizza a year, making it a highly competitive $30B industry. It no surprise that national chains are competing for an ever growing slice of this market. That pushes them to battle to be on the forefront of mobile innovation.
And it’s working. 2013 was the first year where a majority of sales came from online. And for some, a majority of those online sales were from mobile devices.
If you’re looking for some Friday inspiration, check out these sources:
MoBlog: “Taste And Tech: Papa John’s Nears Digital Tipping Point” http://bit.ly/O654AI
Mobile Marketer: “Papa John’s touts mobile in TV commercial as digital hits 45pc of revenue” http://bit.ly/O66lI7
QSR: “Order’s Up for Pizza Hut’s Mobile Platform” http://bit.ly/O68oM3
SMS MArketing Blog: “Pizza Hut SMS Geofencing Campaign 2.6X More Effective Than Online Advertising” http://bit.ly/O69g3p
Mobile Commerce Daily: “Mobile Web outpaces app in Pizza Hut’s digital ordering” http://bit.ly/O6a4oR
Restaurant News: “Domino’s Pizza to offer hands-free ordering from car” http://bit.ly/O6bcZP
Mobile Commere Daily: “Domino’s Pizza makes limited-time offers vital part of mobile strategy” http://bit.ly/O6bIqx