Introduction
It's no secret that the mobile-first audience is growing. Mobile devices account for 53% of all digital media time and 82% of American consumers own a smartphone, according to eMarketer. As this trend continues, companies need to adapt their marketing strategies accordingly if they want their content and media to reach the right people—at the right time. In this article, we'll show you how to optimize your website and content for a mobile-first audience, so you can make sure your company stays on top of these ever-changing trends.
The mobile-first audience
Mobile-first users are a growing, important part of the audience. They use mobile devices to access the internet, content and media.
They're different from desktop users in that they expect content to be optimized for viewing on small screens--whereas desktop users can usually view larger images and videos without issue.
Optimizing for mobile first
When designing for mobile-first audiences, you need to optimize your site for small screens. You can do this with responsive design and media queries.
Responsive design: A responsive web design allows you to create one website that can adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. This means that if someone is viewing your site on their phone or tablet, it will adjust accordingly, so they don't have to pinch and zoom around the page (which is frustrating).
Media queries: A media query is simply a style sheet rule that determines whether or not certain styles should apply based on certain conditions such as device type, viewport size etc.. You can use these rules when creating your CSS files, so they will only load when necessary depending on what kind of device users are browsing with at any given moment in time; this helps reduce unnecessary loading times while also optimizing bandwidth consumption because fewer resources need to be downloaded from servers before being rendered within browsers themselves.
Optimizing your website for mobile first
As a content marketer, you're likely to be responsible for the design and development of your company's website. If so, there are several ways that you can optimize it for a mobile-first audience:
Responsive design: Responsive web design (RWD) is a technique that allows websites to automatically adjust their layout based on the size of the device being used--so if someone visits your site from their phone or tablet, they'll see something different than if they visit from their desktop computer. This can be done through code or by using a tool like Adaptive Path's Siteleaf platform (which also lets you create responsive prototypes).
Mobile-first approach: When building out new pages or features on an existing site, always start with mobile first--meaning start with what works best for smaller screens before adding additional elements later on when creating larger versions of those same pages/features.* Optimize for speed: Users expect quick load times when browsing online; therefore it's important not just for performance reasons but also because slow load times could cause them not even bother visiting again.* Optimize readability: Text should be sized appropriately so users don't have trouble reading anything while browsing on smaller screens like phones or tablets.* Optimize navigation options: Make sure there are no unnecessary steps between where they want go next after landing onto each page within your site's hierarchy structure since these extra clicks will hinder usability across platforms too.* Make sure content loads fully
Optimizing your content for mobile first
To optimize your content for mobile first, you should use short paragraphs and less text in general. You can also try using bullet points or even just one sentence per paragraph to break up the text and make it easier to read on smaller screens.
If you have multimedia such as videos or images that are relevant to what you're writing about, these should be included as well--it's better than having no visuals at all! If possible, consider using responsive design so that the layout looks good on all devices (even if it means creating multiple versions of each piece).
Optimizing your media for mobile first
Media is a critical component of your content strategy. It can be used to tell stories and engage audiences, but you need to make sure that it's optimized for mobile first.
Media should be optimized for mobile first because:
It should be easily consumable on a small screen.
It should load quickly, so users don't have to wait around for media files.
The experience should work across devices (e.g., desktop computers and smartphones) so people can consume your content wherever they are--at home or on the go!
Your audience is on the go, so make sure they have the best experience possible.
As a marketer, you need to think about how your content and media will be consumed. If people are accessing the internet on their mobile devices more than they are on desktops, it makes sense that you should optimize for those devices.
Mobile-first means optimizing for the small screen. This can be done by using images with high resolution and small file sizes; limiting text length; making sure links are easy to click; and providing alternative ways for users who don't want to scroll through long pages of text if they don't have time (e.g., videos).
Conclusion
If you're looking to reach your audience on their mobile devices, then the content and media you produce should be optimized for mobile first. This means using shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs and more white space to make reading easier on your readers' eyes. It also means making sure that any images used are small enough, so they don't take up too much space on a screen but still look good enough for people to enjoy viewing them.