What Are Micro Moments, and How Do You Use Them in Marketing?

Picture this: you’re sitting on the train commuting to work, and you start thinking about how much you’d like to visit France next year. You pull out your phone and Google “best time of year to visit France.”

This is a prime example of a “micro moment,” a little moment that has big potential when it comes to building your audience and boosting sales. Google explains that micro moments are “the moments when we turn to a device — often a smartphone — to take action on whatever we need or want right now.”

Most people do this dozens of times every day — in fact, the daily average is 150, according to Google. These quick little searches play an influential role in shaping a consumer’s preferences and purchasing decisions.

What is micro moment marketing?

Creating these intent-driven moments on your website can be extremely valuable for marketing. Shoppers are on the hunt for information, and they want it ASAP. Google’s research found that:

• When shoppers are searching on their phones, 65 percent are looking for the most relevant information, regardless of the site that provides it.
• One in three shoppers have purchased from a company other than the one they initially intended to, simply because the competitor provided more helpful information.
• 69 percent of online shoppers say the “quality, timing, or relevance of a company’s message” can change their perception of the brand.

If you can edge out competitors and serve up the right information to the right people at the right time, you may land yourself a new supporter.

Optimizing your blog for micro moments

As a small business or content creator, you have the opportunity to gain new fans by capitalizing on micro moments. It’s easier than you might think. The key equation is:

1. Figure out what your target market is searching
2. Create content that provides useful information
3. Boost your SEO to rank highly on search engines

For instance, let’s revisit the example given above — the best time of year to visit France. The first site that comes up when you search for this query in Google is a blog called Santorini Dave, which provides an incredibly comprehensive guide to help people decide the best time to plan a trip, listing out the best times for sightseeing, budget traveling, honeymooning, and more. Because the guide is thorough and useful, it beats out larger websites such as U.S. News Travel and several travel planning brands, winning a valuable micro moment in the popular — and competitive — travel industry.

Micro moments are on the rise, and you have the opportunity to reach new shoppers and gain an advantage over your competitors if you leverage your blog correctly.