--- title: Mobile marketing tips for continuing education programs description: By 2013, there will be more mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) accessing the Internet than traditional desktops and laptops. image: https://blog.lern.com/hs-fs/file-16551259-jpg/images/cellphone.jpg --- [LERN Club Sign-In](http://beta.lern.org/club/) [![lern-logo.png](https://blog.lern.com/hubfs/June-folder/lern-logo.png "lern-logo.png")](http://lern.org) ** # Articles # Mobile marketing tips for continuing education programs Fri, May 04,2012 @ 10:37 AM by Suzanne Kart | ![mobile marketing](https://blog.lern.com/hs-fs/file-16551259-jpg/images/cellphone.jpg?width=161&height=189&name=cellphone.jpg)By 2013, there will be more mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) accessing the Internet than traditional desktops and laptops. This is both a threat, and an opportunity for your continuing education organization. There are two ways you can get your presence felt on mobile devices. The first is to simply provide a formatted version of your site which is “mobile friendly”. The second is to create a specialized mobile “native application”. A “mobile friendly” site is one which automatically detects the incoming device, and provides the visitor with a version of the site which is optimized for use on a mobile device. In contrast, a “native application” is a software program which is designed to run on a particular mobile operation system and is downloaded to the device. While there are some online tools which can help you build a simple version of one of these applications relatively inexpensively, to build anything with complexity, you will likely require the assistance and involvement of a programmer.  A mobile friendly or mobile optimized version of your site is often a better choice than an application, because many of your visitors will be accessing your site through a mobile browser. When you are designing your mobile site, you should target it to display nicely for the two most popular mobile screen formations – the iPhone* and the iPad. If you site works well on these devices, it generally should display well on most of the others. You should have a menu that is very easy to navigate and that allows a user to easily select their area of interest. Links should be large, separated and easy to press - remember it’s easy to accidently hit the wrong link if they are small or two close together and people will be using their thumb or a finger to press the link. You should have *as little content as possible* on your mobile site. Reduce your content. Then, reduce it again. Keep it to the key facts/features which are needed to have your visitor take action  Finally, be sure to test your website and see how it appears to mobile users – ideally on a variety of platforms. Want to learn more about mobile marketing? Check out [LERN's Advanced Social Media and Mobile Marketing Institute](http://www.lern.org/institutes/advanced-social-media-and-mobile-marketing-institute.cfm) this June in Cleveland. [![Click me](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/119076/44cba59e-2c0c-4316-909a-d3f7ba6869ec.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/119076/44cba59e-2c0c-4316-909a-d3f7ba6869ec)       ### LATEST NEWS Video: How to Get the Most From a LERN Membership LERN Video - The LERN Program Review: Position Your Unit for Success LERN Cancellation Rates and New Programs: A Lesson From Netflix Kathryn Lynch-Morin Ready for Liftoff: Drones and Drone Courses are More Popular Than Ever Kathryn Lynch-Morin Working with the University of Nebraska - Omaha LERN [Tweets by @LernUpdates](https://twitter.com/LernUpdates) [LERN Club Sign-In](http://beta.lern.org/club/)