The Rise of Mobile and the Death of the Barroom Argument

Think back to, say, 10 years ago. When you were out with your friends and disagreed about what year it was that Frank Sinatra had died in, you probably had to call someone to look it up and settle the bet. Or even wait until you got home to Google it.

Now, you whip out your smartphone at the table and the only thing truly in debate is who's going to find the answer first. (It was 1998. You're welcome.)

I've been fascinated with the move toward mobile for a while now - and while some might say that mobile is killing desktop, that's not really the truth. Mobile is exploding, but desktop search and use continues to increase, too. We're just spending way more time online than ever before.

Upwards of 60% of Americans 12 and older have smartphones (Pew said 56% this summer, but it seems as if that increases nearly daily). That's more than half. I know, because I looked it up on my smartphone.

With this in mind, I attended Tim Hayden's session at Marketing Profs B2B conference in Boston this week. Hayden laid out tons of smart tips and tidbits that can help you make sure you're optimized for mobile, and not to the detriment of your other visitors.

Mobile needs to be the center part of what your'e doing b/c it's the center part of your audience's life. - Tim Hayden #mpb2b

It's true. When do you put your phone down? When you go to the bathroom? (Wait, don't answer that. I really don't want to know if you're not putting it down when you use the facilities.) The smartphone has become a necessary appendage. Even my husband, who doesn't have a smartphone (by choice) and doesn't use social media, urged me to use Foursquare to find a place to eat lunch when we drove through Buffalo, N.Y., this summer on a family vacation and we simply did not want to stop at another fast food place.

Our behavior's changed. The behavior of the people marketers, advertisers and everyone is is trying to reach has changed. Period. If you don't change to meet their needs, you're going to get left in the dust.

So here's some of the best tips I took away from Tim's session:

• Right-size your images - use rectangles, not squares
• Mobile-friendly video can help you index higher on mobile search
• If your site is not mobile-friendly & your competitor's is, Google & Bing will give searchers their site.
• Be actionable when issuing coupons/discounts, ensure you're providing a one-click path.
• In email: Use legible preview text. Keep email body short. Avoid large images & multiple paragraphs.
• 70% of smartphones (iOS & Samsung) produced in 2014 will have native barcode scanners
• If you're not looking at ways you can leverage the line of sight of your customers with mobile, you're missing out. Think - bus stops and airports.
• Drive action through the video & description on YouTube - make in-video URLs as large as possible
• Don't forget - it's still a phone. Clickable phone numbers are important. People will click to call.

How are you using mobile?

Photo by Meena Kadri via Flickr Creative Commons.