January 11, 2012
Ready to go mo?
No, that isn’t an invitation to join the Mo Rocca fan club. It’s a rallying cry from Google to help get brands and organizations to mobilize (as in enable to behave nicely in mobile browsers) their web sites, and to do it now.
Sure, the fine folks at Google have an obvious self-interest in mobile, but that doesn’t change the fact that their site www.HowToGoMo.com is an excellent little starting place for the mo-curious (I’ll refrain from postulating on why the site doesn’t fully work in FireFox, Chrome’s biggest rival, but it’s interesting to note).
First and foremost, is making clear the distinction between simply being able to access a site on a mobile device, and a site that is designed to cater to the mobile experience, which is ruled by screen size and bandwidth.
Next, is appreciating the arguments for why going mobile has shifted from a nice-to-have to a must-have. Case in point: “By 2012, more people will use their mobile phones than PCs to get online.”
HowToGoMo also features a fun and useful tool – its GoMoMeter – to provide a sneak peak of how a given site looks on a smart phone, and to provide any top-line recommendations for how it could be improved for mobile browsing (hooray! The recently launched m.theshelterproject.org scores a perfect 4 out of 4!).
Recommendations are rooted in Google’s 10 Mobile Best Practices – a set of guidelines that is certainly in line with, and as good as any I’ve seen out there. To my eyes, there’s a sense of priority in how their best practices are ordered, so check out the top 5 below, and you’ll be off to a good start in understanding the nuances of what makes for a good mobile site.
Top 5 Mobile Best Practices from Google
- Keep it Quick: fast load time and copy/content that can be scanned quickly
- Simplify Navigation: a clear hierarchy, vertical only, a prominently available search box for complex sites
- Thumb-friendly: users lack the finer control of a mouse or stylus
- Design for visibility: use sufficient color contrast and plenty of negative space
- Make it accessible: site should work across all mobile devices and handset orientations. Avoid Flash – it doesn’t work on all devices.
Google’s full set of best practices is available as a handy-dandy PDF you can save and print as a reference.
February 7, 2011
To Learn More…: Tips to boost URL and Hotline Recall
It is always nice when we can create a marketing campaign with a self-contained message that doesn’t require any further thought beyond what we are messaging in a TV or radio ad…
BUT…we are often in the business of selling our website or hotline number, where our audience can go for a breadth of information (that we can’t provide in a 30 or 60 second TV or radio spot). In fact, it’s pretty typical to find the following call-to-action at the end of a social marketing ad:
“To learn more, visit…”
“For more tips, visit…”
“Join us at…”
“To donate, call…”
Since we often rely so heavily on getting people to visit our website and/or call our hotline, I suggest that we dedicate a little more time and effort promoting our URLs and phone numbers. Here is a list of recommendations and examples that my colleagues here at the Ad Council have put together to boost URL and Hotline recall for TV and Radio ads.
- URLs should be catchy and easy to remember
- If you are tied to a URL that might be difficult to remember, provide a search phrase in place of/in addition to the URL (e.g. “Search __________ online”)
For TV ads:
- Expose URL/phone number for as long as possible (no less than :05 seconds)
- Make sure the URL/ phone number is prominent and easy to read
- When appropriate (if it doesn’t interfere with the creative execution) consider displaying the URL/phone number throughout the entire advertisement
- Consider a graphical treatment that integrates the URL or phone number into the action of the ad
For Radio ads:
- Consider repetition of URL/hotline ( 2 or more mentions per :60 ad)
Can you think of any campaigns that do a great job of promoting a website or phone number?
Filed under: Campaigns, Communications, Research and Evaluation, Uncategorized
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