CMS Wire has an excellent article about how mobile marketing is changing, and I found one sentence (actually the first one in the article) especially remarkable:
It used to be about "mobile access" but that's not it anymore. Our portable devices are now access, participation and creation devices.
Ultimately, this little sentence encapsulates what so many marketers find difficult to accept in how technology has changed how they can engage consumers. It expresses that the consumer expects more than just hearing about your product or service. Reach cannot be only measure of your success anymore. The consumer today needs more than just access to your marketing message.
The rise of mobile as a powerful communication and engagement channel has some marketers thinking about fixing access, rather than designing the right experiences. "Our site isn't mobile-accessible! Quick! Make a mobile version!" Unfortunately this reaction tends to lead to suboptimal design for the mobile user.
Thoughtful and strategic marketers know that mobile is not just about access, there are 4 other steps to take in order to have mobile as a strategic element in your marketing plan.
1. The Person - Yes, we always start with the user. What are their behaviors? What devices are they depending on, and what are they doing with them? How are the steps on their journey helped or hindered due to the products, information or services they are using?
2. The Purpose - What do you exist to offer or do? Why would a person desire to participate with you? Linked to the first step, you have to know WHY WILL THEY CARE?
3. The End Game - If they participate with you, what can they gain? And linked to this element is the step of planning how you will be able to measure the participation that you garner from your supporters.
4. The Structure - Where and with what will they participate? In this step you start to get a good idea of the overall shape of the idea. This phase also requires knowing if there are already great platforms out there to utilize, like a smart partner or existing application that can help bring easy functionality to whatever you're creating.
5. The Access - OK, it is a consideration. Just not the only one! You have to know what the experiences will feel like across the various devices that they may have access to.
So - looking at mobile elements of campaigns you've seen, who do you think has taken a strategic approach?
Via @cmswire
