By Bob West
When I’ve provided previous updates on the use of mobile technology by our specialty agriculture audiences, the reason for doing so was to alert our clients about a burgeoning trend … which makes me wonder if these updates are even necessary at this point? Do marketers still wonder about whether these growers and retailers use smartphones and tablets for work? I certainly hope not because the numbers are clear and the pattern is only accelerating.
But, for those of you still looking to be convinced (or possibly looking for help convincing management why they need to invest in a new, mobile-friendly website), consider this data:
| Website | 2011 % of Visits via Mobile | 2012 % of Visits via Mobile | 2013 % of Visits via Mobile | 2014 % of Visits via Mobile | 2015 % of Visits via Mobile |
| GreenhouseGrower.com | 5.5% | 11.9% | 18.9% | 24.3% | 33.2% |
| GrowingProduce.com | 6.6% | 13.7% | 19.1% | 25.9% | 33.2% |
| Hortalizas.com | 2.3% | 5.9% | 14.3% | 25.9% | 34.2% |
| CropLife.com | 6.1% | 16.4% | 21.2% | 26.6% | 34.9% |
| PrecisionAg.com | 6.8% | 13.9% | 21.3% | 28.9% | 31.3% |
| CottonGrower.com | 8.0% | 16.6% | 25.2% | 27.7% | 42.7% |
| FarmChemicalsInternational.com | 2.8% | 6.5% | 13.4% | 17.6% | 21.2% |
A full one-third of the visits to our various website occur on mobile devices with the exception of one international website. And the shift to mobile has only accelerated in the 12 – 18 months since we rolled out the mobile-optimized versions of all of our websites to provide a better experience for the audience.
As has been the case for the last few years, roughly 75% of the mobile traffic to our websites occurs via a phone with the rest via a tablet. And Apple products represent almost 80% of the mobile traffic for our domestic websites while non-iOS devices deliver a much larger portion of the mobile traffic for our international websites.
A logical follow-up question to ask is, What about emails? We’ve dug into those numbers, and the trend there is undeniable, too: Nearly half of all emails Meister Media sent to its audiences in September 2015 were opened on a mobile device.
So, what does this mean for you as a marketer? Simply put, you have to be thinking about how all of your digital communications look on a mobile device. Start with your website and then consider any emails you send out. Your customers and prospects get on your website because they want questions answered or problems solved. Do they get what they’re looking for when they visit your site via a phone? If not, what impression do they get of your company?
Bob West is Meister Media’s director of interactive sales. Contact him at 440/602-9129 or [email protected] to discuss updating your website or enewsletter for mobile.