While B2C marketers are engaging customers via mobile technologies in earnest, B2B marketers have not yet fully accepted mobile as a revenue-driving channel. With the growing ubiquity of smartphones, along with business users increasingly accessing email, surfing the Web and viewing media (e.g. video, podcasts) via mobile devices, the emerging relevance and future importance of mobile marketing can no longer be ignored.
According to Hanne Tuomisto-Inch, the recently appointed chair of the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) B2B Council, if you’re a business-to-business marketer who’s not integrating mobile into the marketing mix, you may be missing out on prime opportunities to engage with your audiences. “With B2B professionals always on the move and heavily reliant on their mobile devices, now is the time to tap into this growing market,” he says.
Mobile devices are changing the way companies market their brands. A sound mix of easily-comsumable content is needed in order to reach today’s on-the-go consumers.
The IAB’s B2B Council recently issued a white paper to address the misconception that mobile is mainly a B2C channel and aims to educate marketers about what makes a successful B2B mobile campaign. The following best practice rules are among the Council’s key recommendations:
- Set up a mobile website
- Focus on short, “snackable” content
- Create two-minute video case studies to be consumed on mobile
- Record audio podcasts
- Offer 160-character SMS alerts
- Simplify messaging and calls to action
The Council also highlights the importance of cross-platform compliant email design that ensures that the email is engaging and readable whether it’s viewed on a 21” monitor or a 2.5” smartphone screen.
