There is no doubt that mobile engagement is key to succeeding in today's highly competitive era of mobile. If you are not putting thought into your mobile campaigns, you can be sure that your competitors are busy crafting campaigns that are designed to reach customers quickly and easily.

Failing to incorporate mobile is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made. Incorporating mobile in a way that is not designed to engage, is an even bigger mistake, however.

Is mobile really the be all and end all in the world of marketing? And, more to the point, is it really worth investing in this year? In a nutshell, the answer is a resounding yes on both counts.

A 2018 Statista report states that 52.2% of all global website traffic comes from mobile phones – a figure that is up from 50.3% the previous year. To put it another way, mobile currently comprises half of all global web traffic. That number is too high to ignore. For developing nations, this percentage is even higher. From February 2017, mobile comprised 65.1% of all web traffic in Asia and 59.5% of all web traffic in Africa. As mobile usage continues to grow across Africa, the opportunity to reach more potential customers grows each year.

‍BrightEdge research confirms the continued trend towards mobile. According to their recent studies, mobile and tablet searches represent a staggering 57% of all search traffic. Formstack research meanwhile puts a clear focus on optimisation, stating that 57% of users in a recent poll noted that they would not recommend businesses that offer poorly-designed mobile sites.

While there is no doubt that mobile is on the rise, mobile engagement is a bit more of a challenge for many brands wanting to reap the rewards of the increased mobile market. Globally, there is a massive need for marketers to change the way that they plan and implement mobile strategies, as retention rates dwindle at a rapid rate. In a world where mobile users can easily find a better, faster and easier to use an app, mobile site or optimised website, engaging users is not always as easy as it seems.

To keep up, you need to not only stay ahead of trends – you also need to engage mobile users on a deep enough level to keep them coming back. This is where many marketers go wrong.

The Biggest Mobile Engagement Mistakes to Avoid

You may not even be aware that you are making some of these mistakes. If you are not seeing much impact from your campaigns, it may be because your mobile engagement has gone haywire. Look out for these mistakes to be sure that you are not wasting valuable time, resources and effort.

‍1. You are following the wrong metrics

‍You know that you need to follow the data. You track, analyse, test and perfect your campaigns frequently. But, are you focusing on the right metrics? All too often, marketers focus on data from discrete campaign results that can all too easily miss the impact of a campaign's wider reach. Campaigns may have excellent short-term results that end up giving you a misleading picture of engagement. You may look at initial conversions and see that as a sign of engagement, without stopping to think of future dwindling, opt out or failure to engage further down the line. Lifetime value is a far more important metric compared to instant conversion.

Sadly, it is often the short-term metrics that tend to take first place in presentations, which encourages marketers to continue pursuing quick wins. Rather than focusing on short-term wins, look at the ripple effects of engagement across the funnel. How many leads converted to sales? How many of those became returning customers?

‍2. You are resorting to spam or other dodgy practices.

‍It is always good to remember that many people see push notifications as nothing more than a distraction. You may not be aware that you are inadvertently spamming users with annoying notifications, but that is what you are doing unless you are putting a great deal of thought into your push message campaigns and including rich messaging and other elements as well as push messaging.

You do not need to update customers on absolutely every single update and deal. Push notifications are not the same as email. It is essential to think about the context of your target's mobile experience. Segmenting your lists, personalising your messages, focusing on your audience and behaviour and planning campaigns that are carefully thought-out rather than sent out without a second thought will all help you avoid becoming an annoying distraction to your audience.

It is also worth noting that all of your SMS messages should include "STOP" and "HELP" in your mobile promotions. You can also time your messages to avoid sending them out too frequently. You will end up with high opt-out rates if you are messaging people too often. A timely and relevant message sent out every two or three weeks will maintain the relationship and respect the interruptive nature of mobile marketing, which, in turn, helps to boost mobile engagement significantly.

‍3. You are not respecting or protecting your customers' data.

‍Your audience will not mind you using their personal data, as long as it is used to craft a personalised, relevant mobile experience. Remember, not all users are comfortable with you knowing their location. Some may be comfortable giving out information in the form of preferences, but others will not feel great about you knowing everything about them and using that data in a sleazy way.

There is a massive responsibility in mobile marketing to not only keep this data secure but also not sell or use the information in any way outside of crafting a better user experience. It takes a matter of seconds to destroy trust. Once you have ruined a relationship, you will not be able to regain that trust. Overstepping your boundaries is never a good idea if you genuinely want to engage and retain customers to build loyalty throughout the customer lifecycle.

‍4. You are not seeing your audience as individuals.

‍Treating your mobile audience as one generic market is a major turn-off. Mobile offers a unique opportunity to connect to people in a personal, instant way, on their phones, in their homes, on the go, and anywhere that they may go. When you see people as being a single audience rather than individuals that have very different needs, journeys and expectations, you are missing out on a huge chance to engage. You may have basic marketing personas in place, but unless you are backing that up with personalisation and tailored messaging, those personas mean nothing.

What has helped you improve your mobile engagement rates? We'd love to know. Share your thoughts below and let us know what you think holds the key to effective mobile engagement.