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Mobile Content Marketing: A Practical Guide

The data is crystal clear: content marketing is rapidly shifting toward a mobile-first approach.

Yet, if you’re anything like me, the mention of mobile optimization might leave you feeling a bit lost and confused. Terms like “omnichannel marketing,” “seamless integration,” and “mobile touchpoints” sound closer to Martian than English.

That’s precisely why I’ve created this friendly guide to mobile content marketing. It’s my way of demystifying the jargon and getting down to the nuts and bolts of what you need to know.

In this guide, we’ll cover key topics that will empower you to navigate the mobile content marketing landscape with confidence. From designing mobile-friendly websites to crafting optimized content, developing a mobile content strategy, and creating impactful mobile-first emails, we’ve got you covered.

What is Mobile Content Marketing?

Mobile content marketing is the strategic approach of creating and delivering content specifically designed for mobile devices. This content must be optimized for smaller screens and touch-based interactions, which are crucial considerations during the mobile app development process.

This includes the use of SMS and MMS in marketing, which are powerful tools for reaching customers directly on their mobile devices. It’s so much more than just optimizing content for mobile screens. The goal of mobile marketing is to provide a seamless experience for users across key touchpoints, such as websites, emails, apps, social media, and direct messaging platforms like SMS and MMS.

This means creating content that is not only visually appealing and easy to navigate on mobile devices but also delivers value and relevance to the users in their specific mobile context. 

By understanding how your audience interacts with your brand on mobile devices and aligning your content with their preferences and expectations, you can establish meaningful connections and grow revenue

How to Design a Mobile-Optimized Website

When developing a mobile content marketing strategy, it’s wise to start at the heart of it all: your website. The decisions you make regarding your website will have a ripple effect on your SEO strategy, the content you showcase, and the traffic generated through your email campaigns.

While there are various approaches and tactics you can employ, it all begins with responsive web design. So, let’s start there:

How to Design a Responsive Website:

Most WordPress themes and CMS solutions offer responsive design capabilities out of the box. However, it’s still important to assess your options and choose the ones that complement your ideal customer experience. 

Top Tip: You can submit your website URL to Google’s Mobile Friendliness Test for a report. For additional mobile tests, you can check out this more expansive list.

Google's Mobile Friendliness Test

Here are the key areas to prioritize when optimizing your website for responsiveness:

Optimized Images and Videos:

Visual content has become a powerful force in marketing, making it crucial for websites to display it correctly. Failing to optimize images and videos can significantly hinder your mobile marketing strategy.

Consider the impact of these visual elements to enhance your mobile content marketing strategy. One effective method is to adjust backgrounds for optimal readability and engagement on smaller screens. This ensures that your content remains visually appealing and accessible, contributing to a seamless mobile user experience.

Here are some useful techniques to ensure your visuals are top-notch: 

  • Lazy-Loading Images

Lazy-loading is a method that delays the loading of non-visible images and videos until the user scrolls to the point where they are needed. By implementing lazy-loading, you can significantly improve your website’s loading speed and overall performance. 

This is especially vital for mobile users who may have limited bandwidth or slower internet connections. By only loading images and videos, as they become visible, you reduce unnecessary data usage and enhance the user experience.

  • File Compression

Compressing images and videos is another way to optimize your visual content without compromising quality. Large file sizes can significantly slow down page loading times, especially on mobile devices. 

By using compression techniques like an online video compressor or image compressor, you can reduce the file size of images and videos, making them load faster without sacrificing visual quality. 

  • Multiple Image Sizes for Different Screen Resolutions 

Delivering large, high-resolution images to every device can negatively impact performance. To address this, responsive design techniques involve serving different versions of an image based on the device’s capabilities and screen size. 

By providing appropriately sized images for different devices, you can minimise bandwidth usage, improve loading times, and ensure that images are displayed crisply and efficiently across mobile devices.

  • Media Queries

Media queries allow you to show or hide specific elements on specific screen sizes.

So, if you’re featuring really big images on the desktop version of your website–it’s probably wise to avoid them for mobile. Otherwise, you run the risk of dramatically slowing down your site and perhaps even a failure to load the site.

Mobile-Friendly Navigation: 

When it comes to mobile navigation, simplicity and ease of use are key. 

Effective mobile navigation should prioritize essential elements to provide a seamless user experience. Here are some key components to consider:

  1. Logos/Homepages 

Your logo serves as a visual anchor and a link back to the homepage. It provides users with a constant home base and reinforces brand recognition which is why you need to use creative logos to better represent your brand.

  1. Accordion Menu

An accordion menu is a compact and organized way to present navigation options on mobile devices. It allows users to expand and collapse sections as needed, providing a clutter-free way to access key pages. This helps users quickly find the information they’re looking for without overwhelming them with a long list of menu items.

  1. Primary Call-to-Action (CTA) 

Your primary CTA is the most important action you want your mobile visitors to take. It could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting your business. 

Try generating QR Codes that include a clear CTA, which can lead to a discount coupon, a free trial, a product demo, or other relevant content.

  1. Search Bar

Including a search bar on your mobile website makes it easy for users to find specific information or products. Mobile users often have specific search intents and may prefer searching directly rather than navigating through menus. 

Anatomy of great mobile navigation

Top tip: To get a better understanding of how your website appears on different screen sizes, most browsers offer developer tools with a responsive design mode. Embracing this insight is key for any developer champion striving to create websites that not only look polished but also function seamlessly across various devices. Use this feature to preview and fine-tune your mobile navigation for optimal user experience.

Optimised Lead-Generation Forms:

Mobile visitors are often on the go and have limited time and patience to fill out lengthy forms. Therefore it’s essential in your mobile marketing strategy that you streamline the form submission process to capture necessary information without overwhelming the user.  

Here’s a strategy to optimise your lead-generation forms for mobile:

  1. Keep it Concise

Minimise the number of form fields to only what’s necessary for the initial conversion. Avoid requesting excessive personal information that may deter mobile users. Focus on capturing the essential details that allow you to follow up effectively.

For instance, Penn Tool Co, a leading power tools and home milling machines provider, understands the importance of simplicity and only requests basic information in their form in order to provide you with a $5 discount on your order.

Penn-tool-sing-form
  1. Smart Content Solutions

Consider leveraging tools like HubSpot’s Smart Content, which automatically adjusts the length and complexity of forms based on the device being used. This feature enables you to shorten forms on mobile devices while preserving the ability to gather valuable insights from desktop users. 

  1. Progressive Profiling

Implement a progressive profiling approach where you gather additional information over time. Instead of bombarding mobile users with a lengthy form on their first visit, start with a minimal set of fields. As users engage more with your brand, gradually collect more details through subsequent interactions. 

By optimizing your lead-generation forms for mobile, you remove unnecessary barriers and friction points, increasing the likelihood of conversions. Remember, the goal is to strike a balance between capturing essential information and providing a seamless user experience. 

How to Write A Mobile-Friendly Blog Post

Mobile users are often in distracting environments and have limited attention spans, making it necessary to create an attractive and engaging environment that keeps them focused.

To make your content more effective on mobile devices, it’s essential to ensure it is clear, intuitive, and rewarding to read. Here are some key mobile content marketing strategies to achieve this:

Content-Length Bar

An underrated website asset, a content length bar provides users with an indication of the time investment required to read an article. It helps users assess how long it will take to read and receive the promised wisdom. 

Contents Table 

Particularly for longer articles, including a contents section, can greatly benefit readers. It informs them about the upcoming sections and allows them to skip to the most relevant parts based on their objectives. 

Content Table

This feature also helps search engines crawl and understand your content more efficiently, potentially leading to the creation of rich snippets.

Text Optimisation 

When it comes to writing your article, consider these content creation best practices:

  • Use a variety of heading levels (H1, H2, H3, H4) 

Clear section headings with impact and meaning allow readers to scan information quickly and keep track of their progress, especially when revisiting an article on mobile devices.

  • Use bullet points to convey lists 

Differentiating each point with spacing improves readability and makes it easier to digest big chunks of information.

  • Use italics and bold text

If you want to place emphasis on a piece of your writing, try putting it in italics or bold

However, if you want to maintain their impact, avoid overusing them. Similar to capitalizing big lots of text, too much bold or italics can make it harder to read.

  • Keep paragraphs concise 

Breaking up your writing into digestible chunks is essential for readability on mobile screens; preferably no longer than three sentences.

Remove Intrusive Widgets and Call-To-Actions: 

Prioritize the user experience by ranking your website’s features in terms of importance. On their mobile device, users typically want immediate access to the promised information without being obstructed by sidebar widgets or excessive calls-to-action (CTAs).

Streamlined Widgets for mobile
Anatomy of a mobile-friendly blog post

How to Design a Mobile-Optimised SEO Strategy

Due to the huge growth in mobile usage, Google announced all the way back in 2016 they would begin mobile-first indexing. What does this mean for us in 2023? If you don’t have a clear mobile search strategy, you may struggle to get your quality articles to rank. 

Considering that 63% of all Google searches are conducted on mobile phones, this is absolutely crucial. 

If you already have an existing SEO strategy, you don’t have to start from scratch. Many of the existing techniques you’re using will continue to bring in results. However, there are a few mobile SEO considerations worth your attention:

Optimising for Local SEO 

Did you know that 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information? If you’ve not already prioritized local keywords and optimised your Google business profile–it’s time to start!  Local intent is one primary ways most mobile users find new exciting new brands.

Additionally, If your website has a decent domain rating, it’s worth checking your website’s schema markup. While it can be fiddly, including extra information to make it easier to find phone numbers, business addresses, and employees can also increase the likelihood of appearing as a rich snippet in search results.

Google My Business Search Results

Improving Your Website’s Page Loading Speed 

According to Deloitte, mere fractions of a second in load time can have a huge impact on conversions. They found that a 0.1 second drop in mobile site speed was correlated with an 8.4% growth in conversions among retail customers.

This is why it’s crucial to address any issues with slow page loading. Tools like Google’s Page Insights can help identify and improve your performance.

Google Pagespeed Insights

Do You Have a Mobile-Friendly Sitemap? 

A mobile-friendly sitemap helps search engine crawlers understand the structure and organization of your website, making it easier for them to index and rank your content. It provides a clear roadmap of your site’s pages, ensuring that no important pages are overlooked or excluded from search results. 

When reviewing your mobile-friendly sitemap, consider the following:

  • Proper Formatting 

Ensure that your sitemap follows the standard XML format, which is easily readable by search engines.

  • Mobile-Optimised URLs

Check that the URLs included in the sitemap are optimized for mobile devices. This means they should be concise, descriptive, and mobile-friendly, providing a seamless experience for users accessing your site on their smartphones or tablets.

  • Updated and Complete Content

Regularly update your sitemap to reflect any changes or additions to your website. This ensures that search engines have the most up-to-date information about your content, improving the chances of indexing and ranking new pages or updates.

How to Design Magnetic Mobile-First Emails

Once you optimize your website and mobile content strategy, it’s important to extend that mobile optimization to your email marketing efforts. 

With a growing number of people accessing emails on mobile devices, it’s crucial to create mobile-friendly emails that deliver a seamless and engaging experience, especially in the B2B context. 

Here are some additional strategies to make your emails look stunning on mobile phones:

  1. Mobile-Friendly Templates

Use email templates specifically designed for mobile responsiveness. Many email marketing platforms provide clean and professional designs that you can slot your writing straight into. This will put your mind at ease, so you can focus on crafting copy that draws people to your business. 

  1. Use the Inverted Pyramid Method

The inverted pyramid is a writing technique where you place the most important information at the beginning of your email–like a subject line. This allows mobile users, who often have limited attention spans, to quickly grasp the key message and decide whether to engage further.

Inverted Pyramid

[Image Source]

Inspired by journalism techniques, the goal should be to answer the who, what, when, where and why–ASAP. Rather than saving the juicy details further down the page, putting them upfront allows the reader to immediately grasp why they should care.

One great way to do this is to front-load keywords. Front-loading means placing the most compelling words or phrases at the beginning of your micro-content

On mobile devices, where screen space is limited, users may only see the first few words or characters. By front-loading, you can hook users and entice them to click or read more.

Front-loading micro-content
  1. Optimize Call-to-Action Buttons

B2B emails often include calls-to-action that lead recipients to sign up for webinars, download resources, or request a demo. Optimize your call-to-action buttons for mobile devices by using large, finger-friendly buttons with contrasting colors. 

For example, a B2B email promoting a software solution might feature a clear CTA button saying “Request a Demo” or “Get Started,” making it easy for B2B recipients to take the desired action.

  1. Mobile-Friendly Previews and Testing: 

Before sending your email campaign, preview it on mobile devices and different email clients to ensure optimal display and usability. Pay attention to formatting, font sizes, and image rendering. 

Top tip: B2B recipients often use various email clients, so it’s crucial to test your emails across different platforms and devices to ensure a consistent and engaging experience. 

Conclusion

Mobile content marketing and optimization may seem daunting at first, but I hope this article has provided some clarity.

Successful mobile marketing is an iterative process, focusing on gradual improvements rather than overwhelming changes all at once. As content marketers, it can feel tempting to go all-in on the latest mobile marketing trends like building mobile apps or mobile video marketing–but remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Mobile optimization is about creating an environment that captivates and engages users, no matter the device they use. By taking the time to understand your audience, their needs, and their behaviours, you can provide a beautiful, user-friendly experience that resonates with your customers.