Holiday marketing has traditionally involved sales and, more recently, emails, but technology has brought a new marketing front to tackle – mobile. In the US alone, there are 331.6 million cell phone subscribers, with nearly half of the adults (45%) owning a smartphone. If you aren’t already including mobile in your marketing plans, there is no time like the present. While the 2012 holiday season is rapidly coming to a close, you can still implement these ideas now and reap the benefits well into 2013.

Here are 3 ways to incorporate mobile into your holiday marketing:

Email – While we’ve written about mobile email holiday marketing on the blog (and in this guide,) before, there are a few things to keep in mind when creating a mobile-friendly email. Your subject line and pre-header are really important in the small viewing area on a phone. Spend time crafting a catchy subject line and pre-header text. Including images is important, especially this time of year, but remember your recipients are looking at a small screen. Keep a balance of images/ text, and don’t use images that are too large, as they can take a long time download through the the WiFi that mobile phones use. Also include plenty of links – Your mobile shoppers will have a harder time visiting your website without a link. Include any/all great deals you’re offering, such as sales, free shipping or coupons. Keep in mind, 57% of smartphone owners who made a purchase, did so after receiving a marketing email message. Plus, remember to include your address, a link to a map with your business location, and special holiday hours. Your mobile audience will be looking for this info on-the-go, so make it easy for them to find it!

Macy’s includes a link to their mobile shopping site.

 

 

Cabela’s shared their mobile app through their Facebook page.

Social commerce sales should total $9.2 billion by the end of this year and are expected to climb to $14.25 billion in 2013 and $30 billion in 2015.Social Media – The posts you share on social media can be similar to the content you share in your email campaigns. Post information about sales or specials you’re running, and provide links to a website or specific products/services you’re featuring. But make sure these posts are sharable; a fun or good offer can spread pretty quickly through social media. Using a tool like VR Social can help you schedule these posts for Facebook and Twitter, as well as create social coupons. Including shipping info in your posts is helpful as well, especially as deadlines for holiday delivery quickly approach. Not convinced about the importance of marketing on social? Check out these stats from The Social Skinny:

  • 20% of people would purchase within a social media site.
  • 60% of people are willing to post about products/services on Facebook if they get a deal or discount.

You definitely want your business to grab a portion of those sales, and since mobile users access social media through their phones, give them the info they need to make a purchase right then and there. And, don’t forget to mention any awesome mobile apps you have!

Mobile-optimized website – Creating-mobile friendly emails and social posts are great, but if your website isn’t optimized for mobile users, you could lose potential customers. If you have a webmaster who can do this quickly, you may have it ready for the holidays, but if not, you can still optimize your site sooner rather than later. By 2014, mobile internet is expected to overtake desktop usage. Catering to your mobile users now will put you ahead of the curve, and get your customers used to shopping with you through their mobile devices. Mobile shoppers get frustrated navigating non-mobile sites and may leave before they’ve made a purchase or worse, go to a competitor’s mobile-friendly site. Mashable has a great list of things to consider when creating a mobile-friendly site, check it out here.

There you go, three fairly simple but important ways to use mobile for your holiday marketing and beyond. They’ll help your current customers remain loyal and could win you new ones!

© 2012 – 2018, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.

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