With the Festive Season swing in play and COVID-19 still swirling, mobile marketing makes all the sense in the world. Not only are over-55s less likely to venture out to a physical store in these tough times, but many of them are using mobiles from the comfort of their homes.

What better way, then, to market to an audience with plenty of disposable income, and families awaiting gifts this Festive Season?

In the article to follow, we unpack three key points to keep in mind.

There are mobile considerations to keep in mind

The myth that seniors aren’t on mobile phones has been debunked at length, not least by articles we’ve written previously on the subject. And while it’s true that mobile penetration is smaller amongst over-55s, there is still a sizeable portion of the market making purchasing decisions on a handheld screen.

Nonetheless, marketing over mobile isn’t the same as the desktop equivalent. There are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

• Ensure your content dynamically scales to fit smaller screens
• Create meta titles and meta descriptions that are no more than 125 and 55 characters respectively, to ensure they display fully on a mobile screen.
• Don’t fall foul of the temptation to sign people up to push notifications; seniors will often accept these by accident, then grow tired of them quickly.
• When you write your content, keep it short and sweet. A smaller screen is going to become cluttered fast.

Keep SEO in play

Imagine you could discover what people are searching for online… not only that, but you could discover the volumes they’re searching in and the mobile devices they’re doing it on.

Well, with a tool like SEMRush, all that’s possible and more.

Using the software’s Keyword Magic Tool, you can enter a barebones phrase, then discover the quantities in which people are searching for this phrase, and the numbers looking for related terms too. What’s more, you can even see the questions they’re asking that are germane to this keyword.

For instance, input “buy books” into the Keyword Magic Tool and you’ll discover that vast quantities of people want to know how to buy books online; that people are interested in audible books in particular; and that second-hand books are of particular interest too.

Using SEO (search engine optimization) like this is a no-brainer. Not only will this help you spot gaps in the market, it’ll inform your advertising collateral too. You can market to them better and serve them a better end-product.

Get to the point – and avoid jargon

The content we create with mobile in mind needs to be short and sharp. That’s something necessitated by the smaller screen in play.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it forces you to keep things simple, something that has long been demonstrated to work better.

This is particularly true of the seniors market; a demographic that has experience with sales jargon and promises that can never be kept.

What’s more, by simplifying your message, you more clearly demonstrate what the added benefit is. And if a benefit doesn’t ring through loud and clear, that’s a sign you need to go back to the drawing board.

As a final point, simplicity applies to more than just the message you’re sending. It also applies to the way someone accesses your product. Seniors who are asked to use the App store, or go through a complicated sign-up process, will simply go somewhere else. Simplify at every turn.