Doctors and healthcare providers who implemented mobile technology early in their health and content marketing, have seen great results by providing convenience for prospective patients to find and act on brand information.
As companies discover innovative ways for marketing and communications, they can help differentiate their services, and build loyalty.
With growing demand for content delivery, mobile apps provide a substantial digital and content marketing opportunity for brands. Mobile is now 28% of all web traffic. Companies and organizations that can attract, engage and convert through the creative content opportunities mobile apps provide are the ones that will not only succeed but surpass the competition.
Using Mobile Apps as Part of Your Content Marketing Plan
eMarketer, the research company that follows the latest trends showed that 72 million people in the U.S. purchased through a mobile device in 2013, a figure that that increased nearly 65%, to 119 million, in 2016. It is still rising.
With over 1 million smart phones being activated every day and 1+ billion smart phones expected by year end, business owners everywhere are adopting mobile apps as part of their marketing strategy and customer engagement initiatives.
How can you extrapolate or use this information for your business or practice?
Increasing Engagement, and Loyalty with Mobile Apps
Businesses of all sizes are using mobile apps for client services, support, engagement and loyalty with
- Interactivity and learning
- Social sharing options
- Event notifications
- Instant feedback mechanisms
- One-touch calling and geo-location
- Push notifications
Loyalty
Satisfaction and retention of clients is the underlying goal of most businesses. Just think, a satisfied patient will return and as a referral source is invaluable. Consider a loyalty program for your practice.
Today’s mobile devices make it easy to step up with digital rewards programs. The newest apps not only reward clients, but also gather data about patient preferences.
Engagement
Apps are naturally built for ‘stickiness.’ Consistently using push notifications and social sharing will keep your app at the forefront of your patient’s minds, driving deeper engagement.
Mobile App Pros:
- Provides a ready feedback mechanism, reducing abandonment and building trust
- Increases repeat visits
- Improves the patient experience such as frequency of interactions and length of time between visits, to get a more complete picture of your client’s loyalty.
Mobile App Cons:
- Poor cross channel and platform integration diminishes customer loyalty and user experience
- Complexity may prevent the app from being used to its full potential
- Creating a poor experience will encourage hitting the delete key . Having a broken app will do the same according to ClickFox.
User Behavior:
“Mobile isn’t a platform, it’s a set of behaviors — don’t think about the devices, think about the context. Much mobile usage actually happens inside the home. It’s changing the behavior of how we consume content on the couch, not just on the train.” Craig Waller, Head of Content Operations, Pace
“Rethink your web experiences. Old approaches like giving people access to low-tech ‘tools’ on a website are not enough. We download apps like candy. Customizing content, taking advantage of location, and thinking about real-time opportunities are key.” Heather Meza, Head of the Digital Media Solutions Center, of Expertise, Cisco
“The reality is that mobile is often the first screen your audience is using to interact with your content. The key is to optimize, rather than develop a custom app. Ensure your content is readable on mobile devices, get rid of the too-small fonts, and include more visuals.” Amanda Maksymiw, Content Marketing Manager, Lattice Engines (A TopRank client)
“Mobile is no longer an emerging channel. Along with social media, it’s become an essential part of every digital marketer’s strategy: 2013 was, finally, the year of mobile.” MarketingProfs
What do you think? Is there a mobile app in your future? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
