The Mobile Marketing Future

According to the Gartner Group and as reported by MediaPost, Web access via smartphones will outpace Web access via desktop PCs/Macs by 2013. Think of the implications for marketing:

• Images (still and video) will be even more important than they are today because of the visual impact when viewed on the mobile screen, compared with the impact of text. Be sure your site's home page has an appropriate, eye-catching image that plays well on the small screen. Does your logo need refreshing? How are you using color in your graphics?
  
• Written text will have to be even shorter and punchier to be understood on the fly--perhaps more like the bite-size messages on billboards. Too much scrolling and the audience will click away. Even if backup info is available on demand for audience members who want more, sites will have to get to the point quickly or lose their audiences. Does your typeface need refreshing? Should you rethink the way your content is organized?
  
• Audio could turn out to be a critical factor in differentiating any site; a signature sound, tone, or phrase will help identify the brand and welcome the mobile audience. Remember the instantly recognizable, distinctive "on" sound of Mac computers that was part of the WALL-E movie? Sound is probably an under-utilized tool in your marketing toolbox. How can you use sound to your advantage?
  
• Smell-o-vision . . . not really, but take that old idea and give it a new twist. How you can appeal to the senses with a site optimized for mobile screens?
  

Don't wait for 2013 or even 2012. Take a close look at your site and start preparing for the mobile marketing future today.