Mobile Content Strategy Considerations
Coming up with a mobile content strategy is not as simple as taking your desktop content and making it present well in a smaller format. You must look at the mobile user differently than the desktop user and determine how their scenario might be different while on the go.
1. Consider the user’s situation
It’s important to remember that while mobile bandwidth has improved immensely over the last few years, there are still many areas where coverage is not ideal. For this reason it’s critical to present the most important content first in order to better accommodate your user’s situation. For example, a restaurant would likely want to include its contact information and hours prominently on the home page since mobile customers accessing their site are likely seeking to find directions to the restaurant or trying to make, cancel or change a reservation. By creating user scenarios—as opposed to the more traditional user personas—you can pinpoint these situational differences that are critical to your mobile content strategy.
2. Consider the user’s motivations
People tend to access the Internet from their mobile phone for different reasons than they would if they were on a laptop or desktop. For example, a user in a sporting goods store may visit a bicycle manufacturer’s site to determine which bike model in their consideration set best fits their needs. In this case, they’re looking to find very specific, comparative information quickly, so the best content choice may be a comparison chart instead of long flowing paragraphs about the lifestyle virtues of riding a bike.
Another example is a user who is at a Target store and wants to see if there are any available coupons for the Lego play set she is thinking of buying. In this example, having a link to “Offers” on the highest level of the mobile site will connect customers to real benefits faster. Again, these are contextual details that can be uncovered through the user scenario development process.
3. Consider the usability
From the amount of email signatures out there that say something like, “Sent from my iPhone, please excuse typos,” it’s clear that typing on a mobile device can be challenging. That’s why it is important to present content that is easy to access and use. Whenever possible, provide selectable lists instead of making the user type something. You can utilize your analytics to present the most popular content first.
For example, if you have a pregnancy support site and your analytics indicate that the majority of mobile users are visiting the “Am I in labor?” page, you may want to present that page from a selectable list of popular topics. My guess is that most women would be grateful to not have to type while in the midst of painful contractions.
Use Qualitative & Quantitative Data
Creating a mobile content strategy requires a combination of qualitative research and quantitative analytics that, when combined, paint a more specific picture of your user’s motivations, desires and needs. By fielding user polls and reviewing your data, you can better map content to your users’ goals to optimal create mobile experiences that truly deliver.
