4 Powerful Tips to Help Your Mobile App Succeed

People rarely go anywhere without their smartphone, making mobile is a powerful tool for real-time marketing. But beyond that mobile allows you to take advantage of location, allowing you to customize your message to a user’s location. These users are also using their mobile devices to research products when not on the go. In fact, 93% of consumers who use their smartphone to research a product will go on to make a purchase (Facebook).

After several years of meteoric growth, mobile ad spending will reach the $100 billion mark in 2016, an increase of 430 percent from 2013 (eMarketer). Clearly the businesses that can adapt to mobile will reap the rewards as because mobile is an environment where users are more likely to engage with brands that with other medias.

Before you start your mobile app development project, here are a few tips to help you succeed:

1. Target your message

In ways marketers never could before, mobile allows you to target your message to your users. Are you allowing your app users to set preferences that allow you to target based on their wants and needs? Are you asking them for demographic information that you can use to target your messaging? If not, you are missing out on a real opportunity to engage your users. Mobile users are often quite willing to give you the information you need to target your messaging and improve engagement and effectiveness. Plan ahead when building your app to be able to leverage this powerful tool.

2. Measure

Old school metrics like views and clicks are not representative indicators of engagement. Mobile is a perfect platform for measuring engagement, as mobile users can check out a product, make a purchase, share or tweet with a touch of a button. These customer behaviors can all be tracked allowing you to review progress.

3. Prioritize mobile

While many large brands responded to the industry’s mobile surge and embraced mobile, many have yet to properly engage their customers via mobile. A lack of a mobile marketing strategies can result in poor results. Additionally, mobile must be seamlessly integrated into existing marketing strategy to keep the brand’s message consistent.

4. Personal connection

Did you know smartphone users twice as likely to feel a sense of personal connection to a brand (Google). The sense of connection inherent with mobile makes it the perfect tool for brands to build a personal connection with their users.

Closing thoughts

The businesses who have been the most successful have found ways to blend their mobile strategy into their existing marketing. These companies are treating mobile as its own channel and not an extension of desktop. Marketers who embrace mobile can enjoy the benefits.

Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns (Flikr) http://bit.ly/1O1HtO4