Smartphones are all pervasive today. You could say that 2021 has been the year of the smartphone, and you certainly would not be far off the mark. Since the global coronavirus pandemic has seen thousands of employees transition from in person to remote and work from home digital work platforms, smartphone use has evolved.
Now, smartphones are not only tools for social communication, but also most people’s major source of entertainment, information, and education. Our smartphones provide us with content in many forms: written, image-based, video, audio, and even AR and VR. And, since the major transition to remote work platforms, smartphones have become an important and integral part of most employee’s professional lives as well.
In this article, we will take a look at tools and tricks that will allow you to use smartphone technology in 2021 to enhance your online business.
Focus on Social Media Marketing
Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio (Source: Pexels.com)
Whether you are trying to broaden your online business’s reach, expand into a new digital market, create more conversions, or expand your brand awareness, social media marketing is key. Social media marketing should be an intrinsic part of your digital marketing strategy. As smartphone technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, possibilities to integrate your brand and advertising content with new app rollouts will continue to multiply.
Mobile commerce, or mCommerce, will soon account for the majority of eCommerce interactions. So targeting mobile phone users with your social media ad campaigns is a smart and direct way to get in. And that is the case whether you are working on B2B or B2C sales. Increasingly, individuals are turning to apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or even TikTok or Reddit for recommendations for products and services.
Make sure your brand is visible in the right apps and that you are marketing towards a particular target audience. B2B research team also use these apps to look for highly rated companies that seem reliable and trustworthy. Consider your audience as you choose which apps to focus on.
Use your smartphone creatively. Host a live video chat on Instagram, Youtube, or Facebook, so that you can give your prospective clients and customers a chance to get to know your online business in a more personal way. You don’t need to hire a professional video camera- simply use the camera built into your smartphone. The latest smartphones offer high quality images, so the same goes for photographing products, or creating content for your marketing campaigns.
Easy Conversion Funnel
With so much content available at our fingertips all the time, it is all too easy for your would-be customers to move on to the next interesting-seeming photo in the Instagram feed. But if you make the purchase process completely easy and seamless, your conversion rates are likely to increase. Make good use of the latest smartphone payment integration functions and apps. ApplePay, Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App offer straightforward options for your customers, who will not want to waste time filling in all of their personal details, especially not on their smartphones. With those smartphone apps your customers need only to confirm their purchase with the press of their fingerprints, or by entering their passcode. A process that easy will inspire loyal repeat customers, who will appreciate the ease of ordering that your business provides.
You can also look into creating your own app. Particularly if yours is a company that encourages repeat purchases, your own app is a good idea. Entice customers to return by offering special perks and discounts for members, for signing up for your monthly email newsletter, or for downloading your app. You can offer instantaneous in-app purchases and downloads, so your customers will know exactly how to place their order.
The point is to minimize hassle and fuss, and create an enjoyable, seamless experience for patrons of your online business. Thinking about how your customers will experience your online business through their smartphones, from initial point of contact to final sale, should help inform how you shape your mCommerce content and marketing campaigns.
Collaborative Workspaces
Online business is not just about reaching out to prospective clients and customers. Conducting and promoting your online business also means managing remote employees. So how can you keep everyone connected when you may be communicating from far distances? Utilize the right smartphone apps and tools and your team will work more productively than ever.
Apps like Asana, Basecamp, Evernote, and Trello allow your entire team to access and interact with digital workspaces. That means the entire workflow is optimized for the best organization and productivity. And it also means that your entire workflow process will be open and transparent, meaning that every team member will be accountable for accomplishing their tasks on time.
Trello uses a cards-based organization system, which is great if you need a highly visual organized grid, particularly if yours is a business with a lot of moving parts that need to be kept in order. Asana, meanwhile, employs a customizable to do list type format. Evernote is your go-to app for straightforward minute keeping and note taking. And Basecamp takes another approach, offering different categories that you can choose from to keep your workspace interactions organized. Within each category you can sync up photos, documents, contacts, calendars, and chatrooms.
Final Thoughts
With the latest hyper advanced smartphone rollouts, there is seemingly no end to what your smartphone can do. In this article, we have barely begun to scratch the surface of how your smartphone can help give your online business a boost. You may focus on using your smartphone to keep your team organized, or to advertise on social media apps.
Maybe you are taking advantage of the high quality images today’s smartphone cameras can create. Or you are working to tap into the huge potential of mCommerce with in-app purchases and fingerprint verification.
Regardless of which way you are using smartphone tech to boost your online business, a few things are clear. The takeaway keys to using smartphone tech are to be creative, consistent, determined, and dedicated. You want to make your business stand out from the rest, and that means taking advantage of all the advanced functions and ways of connecting that smartphone tech has to offer in 2021.