I’ve had my iPhone 4S for less than a year. I was a late comer to the mobile party, but now I don’t think I could survive without it. Convenience is one of the greatest benefits of the iPhone. The accessibility of Siri, e-mail, an iPod, a camera, GPS, mobile apps and websites all in one place is incredibly useful. (Though I may now be suffering from iPhone addiction.) So much so, that when I cannot access specific content from a mobile source, it’s downright annoying.
As more and more associations see their audiences shift to mobile or even join as mobile-only members, mobile has become the top mind for many associations. The question is: HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE TRANSITION?
Like all other pieces of your marketing strategy, the place to begin is with your WHY. Branding strategy should identify and clarify your WHY. Marketing strategy translates the WHY of your brand into the HOW: How to Lead (membership), How to build (recruitment), How to engage (retention).
WHY WEB & MOBILE?
A solid web and mobile strategy starts with clarity about WHY you are transitioning to mobile and then further strategizing about HOW to share your content across multiple platforms.
Your editorial and design teams need to collaborate in order to balance the priorities of both your mobile WHY and HOW strategies. Focus on information, data, and content first. Treat content as a service—providing information so that it can be use, remixed, and repurposed in new ways.
Great content transcends platforms. With great content, little needs to change when transitioning to mobile. However, having a content strategy is an important first step and not all of your content belongs in all places at the same time. Using mobile can become the catalyst to tighten up your content without loss of clarity or information. When your content works well on mobile, it will work well everywhere.
**Even without a mobile strategy, you still want to be focused on writing quality content NOW.
HOW WEB & MOBILE STRATEGIES INTEGRATE
Smartphone or tablet, iPhone, or iPad; the devices people use to access your content is not under your control. Using an integrated marketing approach will combine and coordinate elements to create a complete solution. Your entire organization should be focused on providing one well-written, universally accessible set of content.
Your editorial teams need to think collaboration instead of being focused on their individualized tasks. One team focused on desktop and one team focused on mobile will not be enough. Your organization has a responsibility to deliver an equal content experience across all devices. Manage your information in generous portions (manageable chunks). Adaptive content fits different screen sizes and can be presented in a variety of formats.
The critical next step is to IDENTIFY HOW TO MARRY THE MESSAGE TO THE MEDIUM.
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