New evidence shows the conversion lift of mobile optimization
He knows it, she knows it, everyone knows it: the future of marketing is mobile. 2016 proved this when mobile internet usage exceeded desktop for the first time in history. Today, we’re spending about 79 percent of our social media time on mobile.
However, mobile conversion rates continue to lag far behind desktops. More precisely, smartphones drove just 20 percent of conversions in the last year.
Optimizing the Mobile Customer Experience
Clearly, optimizing the mobile customer experience is vital – so why isn’t this happening?
The mobile user experience presents a particular challenge. It’s not just a smaller screen. Mobile audiences use their devices in an entirely different way from the way they use their computers.
Each of the mobile touch points must be taken into account when optimizing the entire experience: single-column emails, responsive web design and smaller, bite-size multimedia content that the mobile audience loves to consume.
Mobile conversion rate optimization is also about driving those call-to-actions that make sense on smartphones — share, subscribe, call, get directions, click-to-pay with mobile wallet and more — and creating a user experience that incorporates elements like mobile-optimized videos, large buttons, swiping functionality and frictionless form completion.
Boost Your Mobile Conversions
So, let’s look at three ways you can help immediately boost your mobile conversions.
1. Fast rendering times
Slow page rendering times cause bounces and cart abandonment to soar and conversions to sink for every second it takes for your mobile site to load.
So, whether you’re using video, images or maps, ensure you don’t leave your prospects waiting.
2. Seamless transactions
Once you’ve improved your render times, you can address another sticking point with mobile conversions: sales friction.
Recent data from the “Mobile E-Commerce Usability” study (2017) confirms that checkout experiences have yet to be streamlined, which causes customers to drop off. Research shows that the less effort required to complete payment, the more likely a customer is to return.
How can this be achieved? One way to reduce friction is by inviting customers to transact during a promotional video, reducing the number of steps in their journey. So, while someone is consuming content about new shoes, all they have to do is tap on the screen and it’s in their basket. It doesn’t get much more seamless than that.
3. Short and sweet
Think about the most popular media channels: Snapchat and Instagram. These platforms, which are consumed on mobile, give us clips that last about as long as it takes to read this sentence — and we love it. Now, companies are making use of this logic by creating “micro-videos,” which provide a taster of their brand.
Heading into the second half of 2017, it’s likely that consumers will start to expect more of the same, not just from videos and graphics, but also from written content. Content needs to be not only shorter but also more stimulating and targeted than before.
Why? Because people on their mobiles are, for the most part, on-the-go. They don’t have time to sit and consume streams of content. They want information to be presented to them quickly, succinctly and in an easy-to-digest format.
Now, while creating concise content is good, creating relevant content is even better. Personalised video ensures that you are only saying something worth hearing and only including information that matters to the individual.
For example, issuing a thank you video to a whole customer base is nice, but issuing a video to Paul to say thank you on his two-year membership anniversary is special.
A final note…
The mobile device revolution has changed the way websites and content is built.
While the above mentioned tips are certainly relevant today, mobile optimization is something that you must revisit constantly, as the market is always evolving. New devices are coming out, OS updates appear like clockwork, and customer expectations are heightening.
But there is one thing that is going nowhere – the rise of mobile. So, whatever strategy you have this year, think mobile optimization.
For mobile optimized personalised video solutions that work, contact VideoSmart at hello@videosmart.com today.
