Is the rising emphasis on mobile getting to you? It’s understandable. The mobile-first world is here, and with mobile shopping skyrocketing, marketers need to keep pace. It’s not just about responsive landing pages anymore; it’s about mobile-friendly ads, app development, and mobile-accessible dashboards.
But for mobile users, efficiency and productivity reign supreme. How’s the page loading speed? Can I access everything from my desktop? Is it easy to read and complete transactions? To help you navigate the mobile marketing landscape, we’ve compiled a list of top apps and tools.
Tools for Social Marketing on Mobile
#1. Yelp
“All businesses need Yelp. No Yelp, no business from me – especially if I can’t complain about it later!” a friend once declared after moving to the city. And honestly? I agree. Yelp boasts an impressive average of 92 million unique mobile users per month, with a staggering 102 million reviews. A whopping 72% of their page views and 60% of their content (reviews and photos) come from mobile. It’s a lot, but it makes sense. Before trying a new restaurant, I always check Yelp. I’ve even found vets, painters, and even DMVs on there. Claiming your local business, setting up a page for responding to reviews, and even investing in sponsored ads are essential steps to avoid missing out on a huge pool of potential customers.
#2. Instagram
With a massive user base of over 300 million daily users and more than 95 million photos and videos uploaded daily, Instagram offers unparalleled reach. The platform’s integration with Facebook’s powerful ad targeting allows you to connect with this audience in a truly meaningful way. Much like Facebook advertising, Instagram provides a wealth of options. You can leverage Instagram ads to increase brand awareness and message association, drive traffic to your website, or even boost downloads of your mobile applications.
#3. Facebook
Facebook boasts a staggering 1.57 billion mobile monthly active users and a significant 56.5% of its users access the platform exclusively from mobile devices. Let’s face it: Facebook is simply too big to ignore; ignoring it would be like pretending there isn’t a herd of dinosaurs in the room. With Facebook’s incredible advertising capabilities, you can directly target specific users within your desired demographics. Because everything operates on a URL basis (assuming you have the universal tracking pixel implemented), advertisers can target specific pages on mobile. Additionally, marketers can employ remarketing on mobile to re-engage users who have previously visited their website, used their app, or provided their email address. Already using Facebook advertising but want to manage it on the move? Ads Manager for iOS is the solution. This handy application allows you to track performance, receive push notifications, and create and edit ads directly from your iOS device. Not sure if Facebook ads are the right fit for your business? There’s only one way to find out!
Explore our curated selection of top Facebook ad tools here.
Tools for Content Marketing on Mobile
#4. WordPress/Medium
For those running or looking to start a website or blog, WordPress and Medium are both excellent mobile-friendly options. In February, WordPress introduced Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) to enhance page load times on tablets and phones for both their own and self-hosted sites. Additionally, WordPress offers a comprehensive mobile app that empowers you to edit existing posts or create new ones directly from your mobile device. Medium, the brainchild of some of the minds behind Twitter, is rapidly gaining popularity among bloggers of all kinds. Both the site itself and all published pages are mobile-friendly, and Medium also provides an app for reading, editing, creating, and responding to posts. This platform can be used to repost content from your existing blog or to craft new posts on the go. Unsure if Medium is the right fit? Check out these insightful tips from Larry!
#5. SlideShare
Considered the adopted child of LinkedIn, SlideShare is an invaluable resource for anyone who has presented at a conference or webinar, as well as those seeking to reference such presentations. With With over 70 million users, 18 million uploads in 40 content categories, SlideShare is the go-to platform for sharing your knowledge. The best part? Your content won’t languish in obscurity. A remarkable 80% of visitors arrive at the site through targeted searches, leading them directly to the content they seek and giving you valuable exposure. Still not convinced? SlideShare boasts shareable social buttons, a dedicated comment section for questions and praise, and prominently displays the publication date of your slides (ensuring data relevance).
Tools for Mobile Website Management
#6. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool
Remember when Google announced that mobile responsiveness would influence landing page rankings in search results? While not exactly breaking news, it has been in effect since 2014, this remains pertinent in various ways. To assist websites in analyzing their mobile usability, Google introduced the Mobile-Friendly Test and the Mobile Usability report. The Mobile-Friendly test is refreshingly straightforward: input your webpage URL, and Google will generate a concise report declaring “Awesome! This page is mobile-friendly!” (or not) along with a screenshot of how it appears on a mobile device. The Mobile Usability Report takes a similar but more comprehensive approach, providing an in-depth analysis of how significant mobile issues manifest across your entire website, not just a single page. Helpfully, Google also provides a guide on customizing websites for mobile, how to configure SEO for mobile, and alerts users to common pitfalls.
#7. Google Analytics
Not leveraging Google Analytics? You’re missing out. But that’s a conversation for another time. If you are using GA, it’s crucial to take full advantage of its comprehensive mobile opportunities! This suite not only allows you to track every interaction on mobile but also enables you to do so directly from your mobile device. The Google Analytics app allows you to monitor metrics in your customized reports, track real-time data, and build and save your own reports to the dashboard, incorporating any desired metrics, dimensions, and segments. While Google is constantly squashing bugs, a recent update introduced support for custom metrics and dimensions, added several default segments, and expanded language support across all iOS devices. Honestly, Google Analytics is a marketing miracle worker – I could sing its praises all day long. Check it out for yourself!
#8. Google’s PageSpeed Tools
Unfamiliar with Google’s Micro-Moments? Their guides are a must-read! One of their most valuable tips – and one that any website optimizer or manager will readily endorse – is to prioritize speed. Consumers crave instant gratification more than ever, and their patience for sluggish apps or mobile sites is rapidly dwindling. In fact, a staggering 70% of website abandonments are attributed to lagging load times. That’s significant! Ensure your website is up to par with the PageSpeed Tool. It meticulously analyzes your site’s content and offers tailored suggestions for improvement, such as “optimize images” or “leverage browser caching.” By implementing these recommendations, you can guarantee speedy page speed and loading times and a superior user experience!
Tools for Mobile Advertising
#9. AdWords Performance Grader
Our incredible team recently unveiled a wave of updates for the AdWords Performance Grader, with a particular focus on mobile. Given Google’s clear mobile-first stance and the fact that mobile searches now surpass desktop searches, the Grader has introduced exciting new features to assess the performance of your PPC accounts! The most notable mobile enhancement is a completely overhauled Mobile Advertising section. While this feature is exclusive to nexus-security customers, it provides invaluable insights into relative CPC for mobile and highlights an account’s mobile spending compared to industry benchmarks. Even if you’re not a nexus-security customer, there’s no need to fret. Click-Through Rate and Text Ad Optimization are now analyzed separately for desktop, tablet, and mobile, and a dedicated check has been added to the Best Practices section to detect mobile bid modifiers within ad groups.
#10. Mobile Pay
If you have friends chasing after that coveted Starbucks gold card, you understand the importance of Starbucks’ mobile app and its payment feature. Apple introduced Wallet on iPhones with the release of iOS 6, supporting mobile payments at numerous vendors, including Starbucks, Target, various airlines, hotels, and more. Not an iPhone user or not keen on using Apple Pay? Users have alternatives like Google Wallet, Square Wallet, or PayPal. These apps are equipped with robust fraud protection and provide instant payment notifications. By eliminating the hassle of manually entering credit card details or fumbling for cash, you not only streamline your business operations but also cultivate customer satisfaction. Moreover, these apps provide a convenient platform for implementing loyalty programs, all within the reach of a mobile device. Best of all, your business will appear as a shopping option to users who download these apps – free advertising!
Mobile Time Management Tools
#11. Buffer/Hootsuite
For me, these are the ultimate time-savers – apps that allow you to schedule social media posts directly from your phone, liberating you from the constant worry of tweeting while traveling or on vacation. Both Hootsuite and Buffer are available on iOS and Android (Buffer is even available on BlackBerry!), enabling you to manage multiple accounts, create and edit posts, and handle responses seamlessly. You can manage up to three accounts for free on Hootsuite and four on Buffer. Both platforms offer link shortening and addition, scheduling for optimal engagement times, and insightful analytics on your posting activity.
#12. Trello
Our team embraced Trello this year, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Trello provides a visual approach to organizing and managing projects – a centralized platform accessible to all team members, allowing them to track initiative progress, assign themselves tasks, and monitor their own contributions. With a user base exceeding 4.6 million users with one million monthly active users, its effectiveness is undeniable. And yes, they have dedicated mobile apps for both iOS and Android! Receive notifications directly on your phone or tablet for updates and reminders, and continue managing projects even when you’re away from your computer.
#13. Slack
Our team is absolutely smitten with #Slack. Recently revealed that Slack stands for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge”, it’s the ultimate all-in-one solution for office communication. Seamlessly share files, PDFs, images, spreadsheets, and even YouTube videos with colleagues through direct messages, private channels, or open channels. True to its name, everything is easily discoverable through a comprehensive search function, and you can integrate all your essential tools, apps, and platforms with Slack to receive notifications directly within the platform. The best part? Their exceptional mobile application for Android and iOS. Instead of sifting through your inbox or logging into countless platforms, you can access everything you need with a single login to your Slack account – all at your fingertips.
