An online venture has its work cut out in terms of establishing its own distinctive online presence. The competition is tough and its only chance of success is reaching a wider target audience. If you are launching an online venture, it’s your branding efforts that will determine the success or failure of your business.

The most decisive component of your branding strategy is your online presence in the form of a website. But, gone are the days when this presence could only be limited to the web; your online presence now needs to go mobile. Also, this presence should be such that it can be accessed through a variety of devices such as desktop, laptops, mobile phones and tablets. Limiting its accessibility will have a negative impact on your branding efforts.

Mobile Users are a Rapidly Emerging Target Audience

If there is one development that is getting noticed by online marketers, it is that people are getting increasingly tech-savvy. This is reflected in the ever growing number of mobile users and the fact that a large percentage of these mobile users are smartphone users, who are accessing the web from their handheld devices. In doing so, they are no longer dependent on a desktop/laptop for accessing a particular website. Now, a large part of these users will comprise your target audience and you can’t afford to ignore this audience as it is a potentially lucrative source of revenue.

The mobile website as an important branding tool

In order to target your audience of mobile phone users, you need a mobile compatible website. This is the kind of website that can be accessed from the mobile phone of your target users. The importance of mobile website as a branding tool can be estimated from the fact that more and more mobile users are becoming ‘mobile only internet users’. This means they are accessing the internet only from their mobile phones. A large percentage of these users are likelier to buy from retailers that have a mobile website. So, having a mobile website makes tremendous business sense!

Although not as popular as smartphones, tablets such as the iPad are slowly but surely making their presence felt.  The ensuing years will see increased website viewership on the mobile operating systems that a tablet runs on. So, your online presence also needs to be tablet compatible. It helps you establish a presence in the minds of an emerging audience.

Something else that is capturing the imagination of mobile users is the mobile app. The various mobile OS specific apps stores are full of innovative and highly engaging apps that are eagerly being downloaded by users. A well-designed and engaging mobile app is an efficient way of capturing the attention of a mobile user; and integrating the mobile app with a ‘splash page’ is an innovative way of marketing your online venture.

In order to optimize the marketability of your mobile website, it’s important to identify the smartphones and tablets used by your target audience and design a website and/or mobile app that work perfectly on your user’s mobile devices.

A concerted marketing strategy

Be it a desktop website, a mobile and tablet compatible website or a mobile app, they must offer the same message. Yes, the limitations or freedoms offered by certain devices/operating systems will determine the way this message is expressed, but the gist should remain the same. 

Here are a few pointers that need to be taken into consideration to ensure successful use of your presence on the web and mobile.

• There should be no distractions on your Desktop/laptop website, mobile and tablet compatible website, and mobile app. Distractions dilute the message of your website and lead to unnecessary confusion. So, they need to be avoided at all costs.
   
• You need to ensure that you use the same logo & design theme across all websites and even your splash page. It ensures a commonality between all your online presences and helps you make a much stronger and concerted marketing effort.
   
• Your information should remain the same across all platforms, but its presentation can change keeping in mind the space constraints of certain devices. When it comes to a mobile website and mobile app, the information should be to-the-point and mention only the important points.
   
• It’s also important to provide links to your mobile website and app on your main website.
   
• If someone tries to access Desktop/Laptop compatible website from the mobile browser then this user should automatically be redirected to your mobile compatible website. This fact is relevant to the tablet as well.

The process of establishing a successful presence doesn’t end with just building a series of compatible websites or mobile apps. It also includes marketing the website and/or app in the best possible manner. So, even mobile marketing plays an important role in ensuring your online venture reaching a wider audience. Taken together the combination of an online presence on desktop/laptop, mobile/tablet, mobile app and penetrating mobile website marketing solutions, ensures a formidable internet presence that reaches and makes an impression on a wide target audience.