More "Apping" Than Surfing

As you surf online this holiday during your shortened work week, consider that the average smartphone user now spends more time in mobile applications per day than the average Internet user like you spends online. And with 1 million smartphones activated daily, mobile marketing is gaining on traditional online platforms because of advanced browsers, faster network speeds and apps that can be downloaded on any type of mobile operating system. Today, more than 28 percent of all mobile phone users own smartphones and they spend more than four minutes on each app session. That also explains why there are now more than 4 ads shown per app. Rainmakers know it's all about the mobile apps.

Optimize For Mobile Screen

Most retailers don't have mobile-optimized site

Your keyword strategy for mobile search is wasted if the post-click experience is poor. With 79% of large online advertisers still not having a mobile-optimized site, consumers will vote against them with their clicks and conversions. Just think of how frustrating it is to learn after you finally get the brand site downloaded onto your smartphone, that you can only see a fraction of its content because the site is not mobile- optimized. You might start to scroll, but will surely abort after a few seconds. In fact, studies show that about 40% of consumers say they are likely to visit a competitor’s site with a better mobile experience if an Rainmaker's landing page disappoints, according to CompuWare research. More than half say they are more likely to purchase from a mobile-friendly site. For m-commerce to really take off, retailers need to start taking the mobile experience seriously enough to optimize for it. If not, their customers are likely not going to take them seriously.

Hot Wheels and Air Jordan Retros

We know that a record number of consumers shopped via their smartphones this Black Friday, but what did they buy? eBay Mobile shopper data revealed some interesting purchase information. The most popular categories may not be too surprising, but the actual top selling items within same might raise an eyebrow or two. In the clothing, shoes and accessories category, mobile shoppers snatched up Nike Air Jordan 3 Retro shoes, Toms Classic shoes and Coach Signature Satchels. The electronics category headliner was of course, iPhone accessories, with Barnes & Noble Nook Color e-readers and PanDigital Novel Multimedia e-readers. Finally, the most intriguing purchases were made in the hobbies and toys category, where mobile shoppers, who probably contributed to the 27 percent of self shopping this year, sprung for the Hot Wheels 1970 Chevrolet Camaro 1:50 Diecast Car, Lost Mini Rocker Crawler RTR radio controlled truck and the Redcat racing rockslide RS10 radio controlled truck. Still think online shopping is mostly a female consumer activity ?

Going Mobile On Black Friday

Not everyone risked getting trampled or pepper sprayed to be the first to get through the doors after midnight on Black Friday. In fact an increasing number of consumers are going mobile on their Black Friday shopping, choosing instead to make their purchases while sipping a latte or perusing their favorite e-magazine. PayPal saw a whopping 516 percent increase in global mobile payment volume this Black Friday compared to last year. According to the virtual payment company, mobile payment volume more than doubled (148 percent) compared to an average Friday and saw a 371 percent increase in the total number of mobile customers on Black Friday, with peak sales between 4 and 5 p.m. EST. Shoppers in New York, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago made the most mobile purchases through PayPal, leading the purchase of more than two and half times as many items this year.

Go Mobile With Website

Simplicity and user friendly features are key

It's not enough these days to have a website presence online, especially since a growing majority of your existing and potential new customers are not sitting in front of a computer to access your site. Today's society is highly mobile, not just in the broader sense of moving around the country, but in accessing all types of online content from their smartphones or tablets. And when someone is mobile, they expect an entirely different experience from the one they get on your standard website. Rainmakers take note. Your standard website is not sufficient in today's mobile world. Digital marketers must develop a unique mobile site with user friendly touch points and buttons for easy navigation. Mobile visitors are typically looking for easily visible directions to your store or location, a click-to-call phone number or a map of your store locations. They’re not looking for lengthy staff bios or PDFs of your latest press releases. But even though you'll need to streamline your mobile site, you'll still want to maintain the same branding elements of your standard site. This is important because your mobile site is a brand touchpoint and, like any other platform, it should reflect your brand essence. The first step in creating a mobile site is giving some thought to the content you’ll include, remembering the screen size. It’s also important to keep the steps involved in going from entry point to purchase as simple as possible. And there are many other considerations you should keep in mind in going mobile. Here are four basic things you should also do:

1. Utilize white space
2. Avoid flash or java
3. Reduce amount of text entry necessary
4. Avoid using pop-up windows