5 Mobile Marketing Mistakes – and How to Fix Them

By Chris Lucas, VP of marketing, Formstack

According to a report from Mobile Media Consumption, consumers today spend nearly 60% of their time on the Internet on their mobile devices, as compared to their desktop or laptop computer, tablet and other devices. These findings support what we as modern marketers already know: Mobile marketing is more important today than ever before.

Unfortunately, many marketers approach mobile marketing as an afterthought, and make costly mistakes that not only add up to lost clicks — but lost customers.

To help, here are the top five most egregious mobile marketing mistakes — and how they can be fixed.

Mistake #1: Not investing in an app or a mobile-optimized site

Yes, you need a mobile site designed for mobile! Consumers today don't have patience for poorly functioning mobile sites.

Fortunately, these upgrades pay off: Mobile-optimized redesign results in a nearly 15% increase in unique clicks for mobile users, according to Litmus and MailChimp “The Science of Email Clicks: The Impact of Responsive Design & Inbox Testing.” Not to mention, once customers are on your mobile site, they’re much less likely to look for greener pastures. According to comScore, 46% of shoppers say they are less likely to shop around for other options when they’re using a company’s mobile app. 

Mistake #2: Not optimizing for tablet, too

Don’t forget — there’s more than one kind of mobile device out there. In fact, Gartner projects ultramobiles, which include tablets, hybrids and clamshells, will take over as the main driver of growth in the devices market beyond 2014, with a growth rate of 54 percent. Make sure your mobile site looks as good on tablets of all sizes as it does on the traditional smart phone screen.

Mistake #3: Creating a Call To Action button that doesn’t grab a user’s attention

Mobile users who find your business online have a conversion percentage nearly three times higher than the same search done on a desktop or laptop. In fact, 70% of mobile searches lead to online action within an hour. But to make this magic happen, users need a clear, easy to find and easy to use call to action button.

Mobile users are on the go, often in a hurry and highly mission oriented. When they grab a smartphone to search, they have a specific intention — whether it's food, a service appointment or a coupon.

Make it incredibly easy to meet their needs: Create a call to action button that won’t be ignored. Change the color to an attention-grabbing hue, or add some minor animation.

You should also take this opportunity to customize your CTO button. The most popular buttons are “Register” and “Submit,” but the text can also communicate your value proposition. Add specific language that motivates visitors to take action, like “Join the community” or “Click here to save 20%.”

Finally, put some thought to placement. Position your signup form at the top of your landing page, alongside some other engaging content. This strategy will deliver maximum views to your form without requiring page visitors to scroll all the way down to the bottom.

Mistake #4: Not investing in social autofill

Many consumers struggle to remember the slew of logins and passwords required to function in 2015. Social autofill and has a lot of potential to improve the consumer experience. Not only does it reduce your customers' time on site —it's a sanity saver, too. According to consumer research firm Janrain, 64% of users who frequently leave sites due to forgotten login information say social login is an option companies should offer.

Mistake #5: Putting too much content on your mobile site

According to SuperMonitoring, 57% of users say they will not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. And the quantity of content on your mobile site — and how you display that content — is a big part of the design equation. The amount of space available for website content on a mobile device is often significantly smaller than the space available on a desktop browser. The screens are smaller, it’s harder to scroll, and impossible on many devices to scroll horizontally. With this in mind, make sure your most important content displays in the top few pixels of the page, and reduce your viewers’ need to scroll whenever possible.

The good news is – we can all learn from these mistakes. Fixing even one of these mobile marketing missteps can better position your campaign for more clicks, and more conversions in the future.

About Chris Lucas

Chris is the vice president of business development for Formstack. He is passionate about setting the vision for Formstack’s marketing and sales departments, as well as discovering new ways to drive web traffic and leads. Since starting at Formstack nearly seven years ago, Chris has worked to grow Formstack’s pay-per-click, SEO, public relations and social media efforts. He now focuses his time interweaving smart web marketing with overall product vision to build an ever-growing base. Prior to joining Formstack, Chris marketed to a wide variety of industries, including sporting goods, bio/pharmaceutical and high tech marketing. Follow Chris on Twitter at @chris_c_lucas.