Mobile Marketing For Small Businesses – Part 6

Holy cow! We're into our 6th post on mobile marketing for small businesses already! If you are terrified because you missed one or all of the first 5 posts, fear not, here's a recap:

Part 1 – What are the different categories of mobile devices like feature phones, smartphones, etc…

Part 2 – What are some of the marketing options for each of the device categories

Part 3 – A look at some of the data available to help us decide on which mobile category to target

Part 4 – Taking a look at some mobile experiences

Part 5 - Some Considerations For Small Business Budgets And Mobile

What Options Do Mobile Users Really Need and Want?

Today, I want to take a moment to analyze the mobile user and how they differ from the desktop user. To make this really super easy, think about how you use your smartphone to browse the web versus your computer.

I know that I use mine very differently. I tend to view social media info, click through to view blog posts that I see in tweets, lookup directions to places, look for restaurants, and look for local attractions. For the most part, these activities are done solely on my phone.

What Do Mobile Users Hate?

As I mentioned in my last post, it's very frustrating to try to navigate all of the options of a full desktop site on your mobile device. That's kind of vague though. I think it's important to really think about what a mobile user is looking for.

Let's start by making a list of what a mobile user doesn't typically look for:

• History
• About Us (though I could see looking up info prior to a meeting)
• Photo Galleries
• News (typically delivered through Mobile RSS App)
• Product Details

OK, so what do most mobile users want?

• Locations page with maps
• Contact Info and Form
• FAQs
• Basic Product and Service Info
• Links to Social/Email resources

Save The Fluff For The Full Website

When it comes to mobile site content, make sure you are short and sweet, with read more options where appropriate. A mobile user doesn't want to wade through a novel of text. Bullet points with optimized photos are best.

For example, it's not really necessary to give each contact person's full bio on the first contact page. Just show their name and contact details. If you really think that a mobile user might like to see the full bio, include a link to it.

Provide Access To The Full Website

Some mobile users will decide that they want all of the fluff. That's fine. Provide a link to the full website for these users. They can then read as much fluff as they'd like. The footer of a mobile site is a great place to include this link. See our site for an example.