It has become virtually impossible to avoid mobile web marketing. Whether you are a web developer or a designer, you know all too well that mobile web usage numbers are on the rise and show absolutely no signs of stopping. To ignore the impact of this trend is something that you can’t afford to do if you plan to stay ahead of your competitors and emerge as a leader in your industry.  With faster mobile broadband connections, cheaper data services, and the move to go straight to a mobile device and skipping the PC purchase, a mobile friendly website is a top priority of a good marketing strategy.

The difference between a mobile-friendly website and a desktop-enabled website is that first, it does not need to be as flashy or as visually enticing as the latter. Visitors who are searching for information quickly to access vital insight on-the-go aren’t looking for the same kind of website experience as those who are sitting behind their computers and getting ready to make a decision on whether to contact you or not. In turn, it isn’t as expensive to create a mobile-friendly version – however, what does include considerable complexity is the need to ensure that mobile accessibility is available across all browsers, across all platforms and suits for all mobile screen sizes. From Firefox to Chrome, from iPhone to Android, mobile users will need access to your product or brand from anywhere at any time, and you have to be prepared for this by ensuring that your website is compatible with all versions.

Some Usability Guidelines

Less content, more impact

Mobile websites should be very focused. By including the most important content and features you are providing your visitors with answers to their immediate needs. When they are on-the-go, the need to get access to basic information is greater than your need to impress them.

Navigational capabilities

There are a few effective ways to create proper navigation on a mobile website. The first is placing it on the bottom so it doesn’t get in the way of reading a page. The second is placing the navigation at a dropdown link at the top of the page. The home page should be kept to a minimalist design and should maintain only the essential items without a need for users to look for specific information by navigating through complicated links.

Design for touchscreen and non-touchscreen

A difficulty for mobile users is often the inability to view standard webpages. Links that are placed close together are prone to making it difficult for users to click on the one they want to access. Your calls to action should be tapped easily and should take up more screen space to make this possible.

If you are like me, you have probably seen stickers or images of what you see on the left here on websites, bus shelters or at trade show events.  I was utterly confused the first time I saw one of these; at first glance I thought it was one of those Magic Eye images that if you looked at long enough you would see a rocket ship or a sailboat.

Curious like a cat, I went home and started to dig around online to see what I could find out about these strange images.  Turns out, they aren’t so strange after all; actually, they are pretty cool.

QR Codes are like bar codes, but instead of determining the price of your purchase, you can encode other pieces of data in them, such as text and URLs to websites, documents or YouTube videos.

As marketers, we are always trying to find new and unique ways for people to engage with our content.  While we can and should still relay on our trusted Eloqua tools, such as email and social sharing, QR codes can potentially help bring a new level of engagement to your content.  Here is a really cool example from Axa Bank Belgium on how they used QR codes to help launch their new iPhone app:

This is just one of many different ways that marketers are starting to use QR Codes within their marketing campaigns.  With so many of us using smartphones now, QR Codes can help extend when and how you are engaging with prospects or customers on the move (or in the case above, while watching a commercial).

Depending on what smartphone you use today, there are different ways that you can interact with QR Codes.  I would recommend checking with your device’s App purchasing store (Blackberry App World, iPhone App Store or Android Market).  Many of these apps should be free.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this technique – have you used QR codes in your campaigns before?  Do you have some ideas on how you can use them now?  Let us know!