The web is inundated with talk about the ongoing rise to prominence of mobile viewership and activity. However, for the skeptics out there, this idea that a “mobile revolution” could supplant the tried and true world of desktop interaction seems like nothing more than the ravings of an uneducated, vocal minority. To prove that there’s more than just a little truth to this supposed “noise,” let’s spend some time analyzing the latest trends and statistics floating around the world of email marketing. With this insight guiding the way, as well some tried and true mobile success tactics and methods following along, you’ll be off the fence and on the path to better connections with your mobile audience in no time.
The Situation as It Stands Now
In order to kick off the discussion, there’s no better place to start than with some cold hard facts from a leading industry source, like Greg Sterling of Marketing Land. As Sterling points out in an analysis of the current email marketing landscape, over 66 percent of all emails being opened on the web take place via a mobile device. No “ifs,” “ands, or “buts” here, just the realization that less than a third of the messages of any kind – marketed or otherwise – ever see the light of day via a traditional desktop monitor.As amazing as that realization is, Sterling breaks down the utilization of devices for email access in even greater detail in a related report, also compiled for the Marketing Land page. Essentially, of this over 66 percent of emails opened up on mobile devices, 49.5 percent occurred on a smartphone while over 16.8 percent took place on a tablet. Perhaps the most astounding insight garnered from this study is the fact that if you dig even deeper, you’ll learn that 58 percent of these mobile opens came via an Apple device, with another 7 percent originating on an Android.
What Does This Mean for Your Brand?
Based on these findings, there’s two pretty strong conclusions your brand can take moving forward. First, if you’re not tailoring your email content to the mobile world, chances are you’re on track for a marketing catastrophe sooner or later. Additionally, there’s a fairly strong possibility that a significant portion of your audience is opening these marketed messages on an iPhone or other Apple device. Naturally, there will be some brands that market heavily toward Android based communities, but for the vast majority of the other organizations fighting for a spot in the inbox, keeping up with the latest iOS changes seems like anything but a bad judgment call.
Making the Most of the Mobile Revolution
So now that we’ve definitely answered the question concerning the importance of mobile development within your email marketing campaign, what’s next? The obvious answer here is the optimization and refinement of your mobile content, as well as any other tips and tricks that can help guarantee you get the most out of your interaction with readers on the go.With these concepts leading the way, Drew Hendricks of Forbes magazine explains that ensuring your mobile messages load quickly and are easy to read is a great place to start. Otherwise, don’t be surprised when you miss out on vital leads and outreach opportunities. Reducing the sizes and fixing the proportions of image files embedded within your content, as well as making your call-to-action (CTA) easily clickable and readily available helps out immensely when undertaking this new mobile first approach.Additionally, The Huffington Post’s Matthew Collis suggests increasing the font size of your text to compensate for the smaller screen sizes and also moving to a single column layout. Both of these tactics help improve the readability of your email content – from the subject line to the unsubscribe details and other legal footnotes.Of course, focusing exclusively on what happens in the inbox fails to take into account the big picture regarding your connection with these mobile shoppers. Once you fire off a stellar piece of mobile content, you’ll want to have a responsive web page design that keeps the mobile friendly theme alive and well. Just like the tenants of a strong mobile marketed message, a site that’s well-received via mobile shoppers incorporates much of the same attributes and visual guides. If you can shore up both ends of this purchasing process, there’s no doubt that you’ll be making the most of this connection with your shoppers on the go, all while the competition that’s stuck in the past wonders where it all went wrong.
