Avionics News July 2017 - 64

BUSINESS BASICS

Continued from page 63

Helping you mobilize
While customers have their needs, you have some,
too, as you aim to grow your shop, build your brand
recognition and customer loyalty, and optimize
customer service. Smart content accomplishes all of
these objectives, provided you meet the constraints of
the mobile world.
As they engage online, customers are on the lookout
for entertaining, useful information about things
that matter to them - in our case, avionics - and, as
we've seen, most of that hunting and gathering occurs
through social media and organic search. To that
end, nearly three quarters of marketers say content
creation was their most effective SEO tactic, according
to HubSpot, and two-thirds said improving SEO is
their top priority. That's because search engines - in
particular, Google - regularly tweak their algorithms
to provide visitors with the most relevant, highestquality information for their results, according to
VerticalResponse. Appropriately, more than half of
customers say they've discovered a new product or
company as the result of a search on their smartphone.
So when we're talking about mobile content, we're
increasingly talking about video, whether on your
landing page, a video site or a social media site. These
days, video offers an attractive option with plenty
of flexibility - and plenty of mobile-user demand.
According to HubSpot, videos will account for nearly
75 percent of internet use this year, and that's expected
to increase during the next several years. Already,
about 85 percent of all U.S. small businesses say
they're using video - or will in the near future - and
two-thirds create new videos at least four times a year,
according to a report by video-software company
Magisto. Perhaps your friendly competition is one
of them. Regardless, according to media advisor
BIA/Kelsey, digital video is the ad industry's fastest
growing medium.
Video has proven itself to be a hard-working tool.
It can do nearly everything, including answer typical
questions a buyer might have, demo new products and
services, provide tutorials, introduce you and your key
staff, and even provide testimonials. Furthermore, it
engages even the laziest buyers because it's easy to
consume, and it encourages social shares - particularly
if the video is fun, according to Hainla. It's applicable
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to content marketing, online ads (where it has the
highest click-through of any ad type) and email, where
it boosts open rates and click-through rates. Image
quality is less important than content quality, and
viewers are more likely to be put off by incomplete
information than poor production.
Of course, video is a favorite of mobile users, who
regularly use their devices to distract themselves
when they're on the go. In fact, an "explainer" video
embedded on your landing page increases sales
conversions, according to Hainla. In addition, Google
loves video, primarily because it increases time visitors
spend on your site, which earns you more credibility.
Consequently, you can be umpteen times more likely to
show up on the first page of search results if you have
a video on your website, according to video-production
software company Moovly.
Doing it better
Since online - and particularly mobile-friendly
online - is the tool that many potential customers use
to find your shop and research your offering, following
best-practices will get the most from your efforts. That
includes choosing good design, creating smart content
and using advertising strategically to break through the
noise.
On your website and emails, ensure the mobile users
have legible font sizes and simple navigation that's
accessible to big fingers on small screens. Google
particularly likes reactive sites, which sniff out the
device the viewer is using and adapts the page to those
peculiar requirements. Likewise, craft email messages
to be concise in content and easy to read. These two
steps are the minimum you should consider to serve
your mobile customers.
If you choose to use video - and you should, and
then embed it in your webpage, emails and social
posts, keep in mind the attention span of viewers.
Views drop off considerably after 60 seconds,
according to VerticalResponse. Start strong, as research
suggests that 20 percent of users abandon a video
after a mere 10 seconds if they don't find it engaging
enough. One minute is about 150 words, give or take,
so nail the message of each, and deliver only one
major point per video. If you have lots of compelling
information to share, break it down into multiple shorts
instead of one long, then guide them through the series.
Include a call to action, so viewers know what to do
after watching.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News July 2017