In this lesson, you are learning about how to increase engagement on social media. To review, engagement refers to the actions people take on social media, such as likes, favorites, comments, shares, Retweets, saves, clicks, hashtags, and mentions. In this reading, we’ll discuss one of the best ways to engage your social media audience: through mobile marketing.

Social media and mobile marketing

Mobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy aimed at reaching your target audience on their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Mobile marketing can reach users through many channels, including websites, email, and social media. Social media and mobile marketing go hand in hand because people are increasingly accessing social media content from their mobile devices. For example, in July 2021, over 98% of users worldwide accessed Facebook from their smartphones. Because of this, your social media marketing strategy should incorporate mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing on social media offers the following benefits:

• High engagement

• Wide reach

• Increased conversion rates

• Effective user targeting

• Opportunities to make personal connections with customers

• Quick customer response time

• Access to user-generated content

• Easy-to-track results

As a digital marketer, there are several ways you can use mobile marketing to boost the performance of your social media campaigns.

Mobile social media marketing tips

Here are some tips to incorporate mobile marketing into your social media marketing strategy:

Create mobile-friendly posts

If you create a post that looks good on a desktop, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will look good on a mobile device. Be sure to test all of your layouts and images on mobile, and make sure any links in your posts lead to mobile-optimized landing pages. You should also keep mobile users in mind when creating written content. People generally don't want to read long articles on their phones, so focus on creating shorter posts.

Integrate video

Users engage more with video than they do with other types of content on their mobile devices, so include videos in your posts often. That being said, people have short attention spans when they are on their phones. Therefore, be sure to highlight important points or product features at the beginning of videos, and keep your videos short—no more than 15 to 30 seconds. Live video is another engaging option for mobile marketing. You can broadcast live from your business on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram Live, or another platform to generate interest and engagement.

Ask customers to check in

Asking customers to “check in” at your business on social media is a great way to gain earned media. Checking in lets customers’ friends and followers on social media know that they are patronizing your business. Offering incentives like discounts, coupons, and rewards programs can encourage customers to check in.

Encourage user-generated content

User-generated content, or UGC,  is any kind of content created by people, rather than brands. People enjoy content from actual customers because it feels authentic and trustworthy. Because of this, user-generated content can help boost your social media engagement rates. User-generated content is also convenient for customers to create and post on social media from their mobile devices. To encourage users to submit UGC, you can run contests inviting customers to post photos or videos of themselves using your product or service.

Leverage influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is when a brand collaborates with an online influencer to market one of its products or services. Mobile marketing is convenient for influencers because they can promote brands remotely. To build a collaboration with an influencer, find one who shares your target audience, uses the same platforms as your target audience, and has a great connection with followers.

Key takeaways

A successful social media marketing strategy will include mobile marketing. Integrating social media and mobile marketing has many benefits, including a wide reach,  high engagement, and increased conversions. The tactics discussed in this reading are just a few ways to leverage mobile to maximize the results of your social media marketing campaigns. As both mobile and social media continue to grow and evolve, stay informed about the latest trends to keep your campaigns relevant and achieve better results.